boist

English

Etymology

Probably from Middle English, box, from Old French boiste, from Medieval Latin buxida, from Greek pyxida, accusative of pyxis box.[1]

Middle English boiste, < Old French boiste ‘box’, in Provençal bostia, representing, through late Latin bossida, boxida, buxida, Latin pyxida, < Greek πυξίδα, accusative of πυξίς box (Brachet). The phonetic history of the variant forms in English and Scots is obscure: but uy is probably an early variant of oi, and the forms in o, u, seem due to simplification of the diphthong, as in 16th cent. Scots jone = join, etc.[2]

Noun

boist (plural boists)

  1. A box, a casket; chiefly used of a box for ointment, a vase or flask for oil, etc.[2]
    1. A cupping-glass.[2]
  2. (dialect) A rough shelter or rude hut.[1][2]
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:boist.

Verb

boist (third-person singular simple present boists, present participle boisting, simple past and past participle boisted)

  1. To cup, to scarify.[3]

References

  • “boist”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “boist”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 “boist, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  3. ^ “boist, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
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