The story
- Old French · derived fromboitous“limping; having a rough, uneven surface”
- Anglo-Norman · derived fromboystous
- Middle English · derived fromboistous“crude, unrefined”
- Middle English · inherited fromboistres
- English todayboisterous
From Middle English boistres, an alteration of Middle English boistous (“crude, unrefined”), of uncertain origin. Likely from Anglo-Norman boystous, bustous (“rough, in a crude state, disabled, paralysed, unable to walk, lame”), Old French boitous (“limping; having a rough, uneven surface”).
Words from the same roots
Middle Englishboistous all →
boistous
Old Frenchboitous all →
boistous
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.