PIE word
*bʰudʰmḗn
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-?
Proto-Indo-European *-mḗn
Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn
Proto-Germanic *butmaz
Proto-West Germanic *botm
Old English botm
Middle English botme
English bottom
From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”).
Cognates
Cognate with Yola bothom, bottom (“bottom”), Saterland Frisian Boudem (“floor; ground”), West Frisian boaiem (“floor; ground”), Dutch bodem, boom, boôm (“bottom; ground, soil”), German Boden (“floor; ground; soil”), Limburgish baom (“bottom; ground, soil”), Luxembourgish Buedem (“bottom; earth, soil”), Vilamovian bödum (“bottom; ground”), Danish bund (“bottom”), Elfdalian buottn (“bottom”), Faroese botnur (“bottom”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk botn (“bottom”), Norwegian Bokmål botn, bunn (“bottom”), Swedish botten (“bottom”); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic bonn (“base, bottom; sole (of foot)”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) (whence fund, via French), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of a cup or jar; the bottom of the sea; butt of a tree”), Albanian buzë (“rocky chasm”), Armenian անդունդ (andund), անդունդք (andundkʻ, “abyss, chasm”), Northern Kurdish bin (“bottom”), Persian بن (bon, “bottom”), Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna, “bottom”).
The noun sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb sense “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808. The term bottom dollar (“the last dollar one has”) is first attested in 1882.
Meanings
(not-comparable) The lowest or last place or position.
la īmus (lowest or last place or position) · it più basso (lowest or last place or position) · bg най-долен (lowest or last place or position) · bg най-нисък (lowest or last place or position) · sk spodný (lowest or last place or position) · uk ни́жній (lowest or last place or position) · it inferiore (lowest or last place or position) · bg последен (lowest or last place or position) · hu alsó (lowest or last place or position) · hy ստորին (lowest or last place or position) · uk до́лішній (lowest or last place or position)
PIE word
*bʰudʰmḗn
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-?
Proto-Indo-European *-mḗn
Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn
Proto-Germanic *butmaz
Proto-West Germanic *botm
Old English botm
Middle English botme
English bottom
From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”).
Cognates
Cognate with Yola bothom, bottom (“bottom”), Saterland Frisian Boudem (“floor; ground”), West Frisian boaiem (“floor; ground”), Dutch bodem, boom, boôm (“bottom; ground, soil”), German Boden (“floor; ground; soil”), Limburgish baom (“bottom; ground, soil”), Luxembourgish Buedem (“bottom; earth, soil”), Vilamovian bödum (“bottom; ground”), Danish bund (“bottom”), Elfdalian buottn (“bottom”), Faroese botnur (“bottom”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk botn (“bottom”), Norwegian Bokmål botn, bunn (“bottom”), Swedish botten (“bottom”); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic bonn (“base, bottom; sole (of foot)”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) (whence fund, via French), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of a cup or jar; the bottom of the sea; butt of a tree”), Albanian buzë (“rocky chasm”), Armenian անդունդ (andund), անդունդք (andundkʻ, “abyss, chasm”), Northern Kurdish bin (“bottom”), Persian بن (bon, “bottom”), Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna, “bottom”).
The noun sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb sense “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808. The term bottom dollar (“the last dollar one has”) is first attested in 1882.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) The lowest part of anything.
barrels with the bottoms knocked out 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
Footers appear at the bottoms of pages.
No two chairs were alike; such high backs and low backs and leather bottoms and worsted bottoms. 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC:
a great ship’s kettle of iron, with the bottom knocked out 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 19, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
At the bottom of the staircase I stood and stared at the worn steps, and Ayesha, turning, saw me. 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
(countable, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ The lowest or last position in a rank.
The Red Sox are at the bottom again.
(countable, often, plural, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ A garment worn to cover the body below the torso.
There’s a hole in her pyjama bottoms.
(countable, figuratively, often, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ The lowest part of a container.
In Ireland, where 14.5% of the population are jobless, emigration has climbed steadily since 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed and the bottom fell out of the Irish housing market. In the 12 months to April this year, 40,200 Irish passport-holders left, up from 27,700 the previous year, according to the central statistics office. Irish nationals were by far the largest constituent group among emigrants, at almost 53%. 2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian:
(countable, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ Spirits poured into a glass before adding soda water.
(countable, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ The second half of an inning, the home team's turn at bat.
bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs
(countable, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ The bass or baritone instruments of a band.
a soda and a bottom of brandy
(countable, uncountable) The lowest part of anything. ▸ The working portion of a moldboard-style plow.
single-bottom plow
three-bottom plow
(countable, uncountable) The remotest or innermost part of something.
Near-synonym: fundus (anatomical)
There was a pit in the bottom of my stomach.
I walked to the bottom of the street.
There’s a fairy at the bottom of my garden.
(countable, uncountable) The fundamental part; a basic aspect.
get to the bottom of it
Thereupon Billali did a curious thing. Down he went, that venerable-looking old gentleman - for Billali is a gentleman at the bottom - down on to his hands and knees, and in this undignified position, with his long white beard trailing on the ground, he began to creep into the apartment beyond. 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
(US, countable, uncountable) Low-lying land; a valley or hollow.
the bottoms and the high grounds 1812, Amos Stoddard, Sketches of Louisiana:
Where shall we go for a walk? How about Ashcombe Bottom?
The horses staled in a small brook that runs in a bottom, betwixt two hills. 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
(countable, plural-normally, uncountable) Low-lying land near a river with alluvial soil.
(countable, euphemistic, uncountable) The buttocks or anus.
Calvin, if you shoot that paper clip at me, I'll get your bottom hauled to the principal's office so fast you'll think you were in a time warp!! 1986 April 10, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):
(countable, uncountable) The bed of a body of water.
(countable, uncountable) An abyss.
In the Carpathian Bottom makes abode / The Shepherd of the Seas, a Prophet and a God 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
(countable, uncountable) A cargo vessel, a ship.
We sail in leaky bottoms and on great and perilous waters; [...] 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:
(countable, uncountable) Certain parts of a vessel, particularly the cargo hold or the portion of the ship that is always underwater.
My ventures are not in one bottom trusted. c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
Not to sell the teas, but to return them to London in the same bottoms in which they were shipped. 1773 November 8, Bancroft, Boston Post-Boy:
(countable, qualifier:especially LGBTQ slang, slang) A person who has a receptive role or has a preference for that role during intercourse.
James and Lukas would make a great couple if they weren't both bottoms.
(broadly, colloquial, countable, qualifier:especially LGBTQ slang, slang) A person who has a receptive role or has a preference for that role during intercourse. ▸ A sexual submissive.
Since what I wanted to do was be a bottom, a masochist, I had to learn that you could do it and be safe, that you could do it and not sign your life away, that you could do it by agreement, and that it was still fun. 1981 August 15, Nancy Wechsler, Gayle Rubin, Pat Califia, “Sadomasochism: Fears, Facts, Fantasies”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 5, page 6:
This was why Dee had always ridden a buckskin; a man following his kind of trails needed a horse with bottom, and a line-back like this one never wore out. 2017, Les Savage, The Teton Bunch: A Western Trio:
(countable, uncountable) A ball or skein of thread; a cocoon.
the [silk]worms will fasten themselves, and make their bottoms, which in about fourteen days are finished. 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
(countable, rare, uncountable) A trundle or spindle of thread.
[...] three “bottoms or clewes” (elsewhere called “spindles” or “fusils upon slippers”) in fesse gules threaded or, for Badlond; 1873, Henry Sydney Grazebrook, The Heraldry of Worcestershire, page 285:
BOTTOM, a trundle or quill of gold thread. See TRUNDLE. Argent three bottoms, in fess gules, the thread or; name, Hoby, of Badland. 1866, Hugh Clark, An Introduction to Heraldry ... Eighteenth edition. Revised and corrected by J. R. Planché, page 99:
Edward Hoby of Bisham in Berkshire, Esq; Or, a Fess, Sable, between three Hobby-Hawks, proper; otherwise, Azure, three Bottoms in Fess, Gules. 1724, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldry, page 207:
(countable, obsolete, uncountable) Dregs or grounds; lees; sediment.
(abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, particle, uncountable) Ellipsis of bottom quark.
he פַּס (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · es solera (lowest part) · ro șezut (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · pl spód (lowest part) · ko 바탕 (lowest part) · no passiv (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · wa fond (lowest part) · sc funnu (lowest part) · th เกย์ควีน (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · yue 0 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ko 바닥 (lowest part) · cs dno (lowest part) · ltg zemīne (lowest part) · pt fundo (lowest part) · sv rumpa (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · zza bın (diq) (lowest part) · fi sakka (dregs or grounds, lees, sediment) · la fundus (lowest part) · eo fundo (lowest part) · el πισινός (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · gl traseiro (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · eo pasivulo (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sh фурунџија (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · az alt (lowest part) · sv bak (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · hy ներքև (lowest part) · it passivo (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · el πάτος (lowest part) · la pathicus (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · bg до́лнище (garment worn on lower body) · he ישבן (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · hy հիմք (lowest part) · fur font (lowest part) · sk nížina (valley) · sh zadnjica (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sv botten (bed of a body of water) · gl pouso (dregs or grounds, lees, sediment) · fi pohja (bed of a body of water) · grc βένθος (bed of a body of water) · et tagumik (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sk spodok (lowest part) · hi चूतड़ (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi kestävyys (power of endurance) · uk низ (lowest part) · fi alistuva osapuoli (BDSM: submissive in sadomasochism) · fi pohja (lowest part) · wyi pilik (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ru дно (lowest part) · gl fondo (dregs or grounds, lees, sediment) · mi takere (lowest part) · vi đáy (lowest part) · fr passif (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · et taguots (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ga íochtar (lowest part) · hy հետույք (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · egy a:r:*t-pH (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi rahtilaiva (nautical: cargo vessel) · fi peppu (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · be дно (lowest part) · lv apakša (lowest part) · ja 底 (lowest part) · fi pohja (valley) · cs spodek (lowest part) · az dib (lowest part) · pl dno (character, reliability, staying power, dignity, integrity or sound judgment) · prg dubnas (lowest part) · fr fond (lowest part) · lld fond (lowest part) · da bund (lowest part) · sk pasív (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · lad dip (lowest part) · ro fund (lowest part) · eu ipurdi (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sc fundu (lowest part) · ka ძირი (lowest part) · mi kōtore (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ca cul (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ja 底 (lowest part of a container) · sh дно (lowest part) · nl bottom (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fa بن (lowest part) · fi pohja (nautical: low parts of a vessel) · tr pasif (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · nl onderkant (lowest part) · fi peffa (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi kerä (ball or skein of thread; a cocoon) · ja 下部 (lowest part) · mk дно (lowest part) · fi pohja (lowest part of a container) · be ніз (lowest part) · mr बॉटम (BDSM: submissive in sadomasochism) · izh pohja (lowest part) · ro cur (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · nl bil (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · klj alt (lowest part) · fi jälkimmäinen vuoro (baseball: second half of an inning, the home team's turn at bat) · ka პასი (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ja 受け (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · de Unterseite (lowest part) · gl fondo (bed of a body of water) · pt cu (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · eo pugo (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sk dno (bed of a body of water) · uk яр (valley) · es parte de abajo (lowest part) · ce бух (lowest part) · ar قَعْر (lowest part) · ko 바텀 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sh dno (lowest part) · gl fondo (lowest part) · uk доли́на (valley) · cy rhefr (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · hy հատակ (lowest part) · ru ни́жняя часть (lowest part) · os бын (lowest part) · cmn 零號 /零号 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · rup afundu (lowest part) · fr dessous (lowest part) · uk ни́жник (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ro pasiv (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ro zână (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ota آشاغی (lowest part) · ja 裏 (ball or skein of thread; a cocoon) · zza cêr (diq) (lowest part) · nl bodem (lowest part of a container) · pt passivo (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · bg утайка (dregs or grounds, lees, sediment) · ru пасси́вный (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fi pohja (character, reliability, staying power, dignity, integrity or sound judgment) · de passiv (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · se bahta (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fa-ira مفعول (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sw msenge (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · yue 被動 /被动 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · br revr (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ko 말 (baseball: second half of an inning, the home team's turn at bat) · mk бу́љаш (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · pl zadek (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · nci cocoxqui (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · it fondo (lowest part) · fi perä (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi ottava osapuoli (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · uk дно (bed of a body of water) · mn ёроол (lowest part) · fi alaosa (garment worn on lower body) · ro fund (bed of a body of water) · ar قَاع (lowest part) · wyi mum (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · scn funnu (lowest part) · fi alapää (lowest part) · klj ast (lowest part) · fa-ira کونی (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sma ravve (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · th กก (lowest part) · kw goles (lowest part) · tr alt (lowest part) · ru ни́жний (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · hu alj (lowest part) · fa-ira پسیو (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · uk низ (lowest part of a container) · fi pohjat (dregs or grounds, lees, sediment) · ota بزقجی (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · hi नितंब (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ru зад (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · af onderkant (lowest part) · de Boden (lowest part) · tpw ebira (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · nb bunn (lowest part) · mi tangere (nautical: low parts of a vessel) · lad fondo (lowest part) · grc πύνδαξ (lowest part) · bg дъно́ (lowest part) · ca fons (lowest part) · fr popotin (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sk zadok (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · klj asra (lowest part) · se čurti (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · nb botn (lowest part) · cmn 底 (lowest part) · gld пэрэл (lowest part) · et pepu (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · grc πάτος (lowest part) · arz خوال (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fi syvyys (character, reliability, staying power, dignity, integrity or sound judgment) · mk за́дник (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · es fondo (bed of a body of water) · id boti (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fi pehva (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · koi пыдӧс (lowest part) · mi tou (lowest part) · kmr bin (lowest part) · sv passiv (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · da passiv (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · id lembah (valley) · kw pedren (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · pl pasyw (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ja ネコ (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · mi whakatakere (lowest part) · hy տակ (lowest part) · pl dół (lowest part) · eo malsuprulo (BDSM: submissive in sadomasochism) · fa ته (lowest part) · mi raro (lowest part) · gl fondo (lowest part of a container) · prs مفعول (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fur cûl (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · el πυθμένας (lowest part) · gl cu (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · bg задник (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi bottom (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fr séant (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fr bas (lowest part) · fur fonz (lowest part) · pl dno (lowest part) · rup fundu (lowest part) · sc fundhu (lowest part) · mi kumu (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ru по́па (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · id bawah (lowest part) · ltg zamoška (lowest part) · la solum (lowest part) · uk ко́кон (ball or skein of thread; a cocoon) · nv hayaaígíí (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · pl tyłek (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ro fund (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · nn botn (lowest part) · sv ända (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · gl borra (dregs or grounds, lees, sediment) · it sedere (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · yue 零 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · gd tòn (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · nb bånn (lowest part) · prs کونی (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · he תחת (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sh tur (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · mk газ (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ht anba (lowest part) · sk dno (lowest part of a container) · fr potron (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ko 밑 (lowest part) · cy gwaelod (lowest part) · inh бух (lowest part) · kmr jêr (lowest part) · hu fenék (lowest part) · th โคน (lowest part) · bg дъно (bed of a body of water) · mi tangere (lowest part) · ja 裏 (baseball: second half of an inning, the home team's turn at bat) · cy pen-ôl (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sma råvve (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · bg издръжливост (power of endurance) · fr arrière-train (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · cmn 0 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ja 凹 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · uk дно (lowest part) · th ก้น (lowest part) · hi घाटी (valley) · is botn (lowest part) · izh alaosa (lowest part) · fr derrière (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi takalisto (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sk údolie (valley) · tl papuwet (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sq fund (lowest part) · he תַּחְתִּית (lowest part) · sv botten (lowest part) · cmn 底端 (lowest part) · bg долина (valley) · ko 똥구멍 (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · mn доод хэсэг (lowest part) · sh furundžija (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · tr dip (lowest part) · es pasivo (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · he פָּסִיבִי (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · de Grund (lowest part) · nl bodem (lowest part) · et istmik (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · cmn 底部 (lowest part) · gd màs (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · fi takapuoli (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · et tagument (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · cmn 被動 /被动 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sms põtt (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sv stjärt (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · tly bın (lowest part) · es culo (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ko 궁둥이 (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · uk паси́в (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · th รับ (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · ru пасси́в (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · grc πυθμήν (lowest part) · ru низ (lowest part) · pdt Grunt (lowest part) · uk дно (lowest part of a container) · evn хэрэ (lowest part) · fi takamus (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · et passiivne (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · udm пыдэс (lowest part) · fi pylly (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · sh vratilo (ball or skein of thread; a cocoon) · la culus (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · cmn 零 (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sh па̏сӣван (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · wa dizo (lowest part) · et ahter (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · th ก้น (lowest part of a container) · sv underdel (garment worn on lower body) · grc παθικός (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · sl dno (lowest part) · eo malsupro (lowest part) · bg издръжливост (character, reliability, staying power, dignity, integrity or sound judgment) · vec fondo (lowest part) · rup cur (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · hi निचला (lowest part) · es fondo (lowest part) · sh pȁsīvan (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fr enculé (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · pt fundilho (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ro dos (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · cop ⲙⲁⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · smn pottâ (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · nci cuiloni (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · fr cul (euphemistic: buttocks or anus) · ar سَالِب (slang: penetrated partner in sex) · zdj trako (lowest part) · pl dolina (valley) · hi पिछवाड़ा (euphemistic: buttocks or anus)
PIE word
*bʰudʰmḗn
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-?
Proto-Indo-European *-mḗn
Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn
Proto-Germanic *butmaz
Proto-West Germanic *botm
Old English botm
Middle English botme
English bottom
From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”).
Cognates
Cognate with Yola bothom, bottom (“bottom”), Saterland Frisian Boudem (“floor; ground”), West Frisian boaiem (“floor; ground”), Dutch bodem, boom, boôm (“bottom; ground, soil”), German Boden (“floor; ground; soil”), Limburgish baom (“bottom; ground, soil”), Luxembourgish Buedem (“bottom; earth, soil”), Vilamovian bödum (“bottom; ground”), Danish bund (“bottom”), Elfdalian buottn (“bottom”), Faroese botnur (“bottom”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk botn (“bottom”), Norwegian Bokmål botn, bunn (“bottom”), Swedish botten (“bottom”); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic bonn (“base, bottom; sole (of foot)”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) (whence fund, via French), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of a cup or jar; the bottom of the sea; butt of a tree”), Albanian buzë (“rocky chasm”), Armenian անդունդ (andund), անդունդք (andundkʻ, “abyss, chasm”), Northern Kurdish bin (“bottom”), Persian بن (bon, “bottom”), Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna, “bottom”).
The noun sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb sense “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808. The term bottom dollar (“the last dollar one has”) is first attested in 1882.
Meanings
(transitive) To furnish (something) with a bottom.
to bottom a chair
(transitive) To pour spirits into (a glass to be topped up with soda water).
We shall bid that thoughtful waiter place beside him, near and handy, / Large supplies of soda water, tumblers bottomed well with brandy, […] 1866, “Dirge of the Drinker”, in The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, page 645:
(obsolete) To wind (like a ball of thread etc.).
As you vnwinde her loue from him, / Lest it should rauel and be good to none, / You must prouide to bottome it on me. c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
(transitive) To establish or found (something) on or upon.
Moreover, the Supreme Court has held that the President must obey outstanding executive orders, even when bottomed on the Constitution, until they are revoked. 2001, United States Congress House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, Executive Orders and Presidential Directives, p.59
But an absurd opinion concerning the king’s hereditary right to the crown does not prejudice one that is rational, and bottomed upon solid principles of law and policy. 1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:
those false and deceiving grounds upon which many bottom their eternal state 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
(qualifier:chiefly passive voice, transitive) To lie on the bottom of; to underlie, to lie beneath.
My first night in America was spent in a motel with plywood over its windows, its pool bottomed with garbage sacks. 1989, B Mukherjee, Jasmine:
(intransitive, obsolete) To be based or grounded.
c. 1703, John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Reading and Study for a Gentleman
Find out upon what foundation any proposition advanced bottoms'.
(intransitive) To reach or strike against the bottom of something, so as to impede free action.
allowance at the bottom of blind bores for the chamfered tip of the reamer will obviate additional operations with shouldering or bottoming reamers to completely finish the entire length of a hole. 1977, Roger W. Autor Bolz, Production Processes: The Productivity Handbook, page 12-81:
(transitive) To reach the bottom of something.
Squeaker's dog sniffed and barked joyfully around them till his licking efforts to bottom a salmon tin sent him careering in a muzzled frenzy, that caused the younger woman's thick lips to part grinningly till he came too close. 1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 21:
To fall to the lowest point.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average bottomed on September 24, 2001. The CRB Index bottomed on October 24. 2004, John J. Murphy, Intermarket Analysis: Profiting from Global Market Relationships, page 119:
(dated, intransitive) To be the submissive partner in a BDSM relationship.
(intransitive, qualifier:especially LGBTQ slang) To take on the receptive role during intercourse.
Daw hadn’t bottomed in a long time. He hadn’t had sex in a year. 2023, Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans, Jonathan Cape, page 301: