boto

See also: botó, bôto, bōto, bōtō, and bötö

Languages (23)

English

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Akan • Basque • Catalan • Cebuano • Esperanto • Fijian • Galician • Gothic • Hawaiian Creole • Ido • Javanese • Makasar • Mogum • Nias • Old High German • Papiamentu • Portuguese • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Tagalog • Toba Batak • Venetan

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Page categories

English

A boto

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese boto (“boto”), of uncertain origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbəʊtəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊtəʊ

Noun

boto (plural botos)

2. Inia geoffrensis, a species of freshwater dolphin endemic to the Amazon river system

   Synonym: Amazon river dolphin

   • 2008 April 1, Henry Fountain, “Carrying a Torch, or at Least Sprigs of Grass”, in New York Times‎^[2]:

     But in a group where one boto puts on a display, there was much more tail-whacking, biting and other aggressive behavior among the males.

Translations

Inia geoffrensis — see Amazon river dolphin

References

• boto on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Inia geoffrensis on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Anagrams

• BOOT, Boot, OOTB, boot

Akan

Noun

boto

1. (Twi) lassitude

   Synonym: ɔbrɛ

References

• LearnAkan (2018–present), “lassitude”, in LearnAkanDictionary.com (overall work in English)

Basque

Alternative forms

• botu

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish voto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boto/ [bo.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -oto, -o
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Noun

boto inan

1. vote

   Synonym: boz

2. franchise, suffrage
3. (religion) vow

Declension

Declension of boto (inan V-stem)

	indefinite	singular	plural	proximal plural
absolutive	boto	botoa	botoak	botook
ergative	botok	botoak	botoek	botook
dative	botori	botoari	botoei	botooi
genitive	botoren	botoaren	botoen	botoon
comitative	botorekin	botoarekin	botoekin	botookin
causative	botorengatik	botoarengatik	botoengatik	botoongatik
benefactive	botorentzat	botoarentzat	botoentzat	botoontzat
instrumental	botoz	botoaz	botoez	botootaz
inessive	bototan	botoan	botoetan	botootan
locative	bototako	botoko	botoetako	botootako
allative	bototara	botora	botoetara	botootara
terminative	bototaraino	botoraino	botoetaraino	botootaraino
directive	bototarantz	botorantz	botoetarantz	botootarantz
destinative	bototarako	botorako	botoetarako	botootarako
ablative	bototatik	bototik	botoetatik	botootatik
partitive	botorik	—	—	—
prolative	bototzat	—	—	—

Derived terms

• boto egin (“to promise”)
• boto-emaile (“voter”)
• boto-eskubide (“right to vote”)
• boto-paper (“ballot”)
• botoa eman (“to vote”)

Further reading

• “boto”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “boto”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈbu.tu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈbo.to]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbo.tu]

Etymology 1

Verb

boto

1. first-person singular present indicative of botre

Etymology 2

Verb

boto

1. first-person singular present indicative of botar

Cebuano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bo‧to
• IPA^(key): /ˈboto/ [ˈbo.t̪o]
• Homophone: buto (certain accents)

Etymology 1

See buto.

Noun

boto

1. misspelling of buto

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish voto.

Noun

boto

1. vote

   Synonym: botar

Verb

boto

1. to vote

   Synonym: botar

Usage notes

(verb: to vote): Botar is often used instead due to its being a homophone of buto in certain accents.

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from English boot, French botte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboto/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oto
• Syllabification: bo‧to

Noun

boto (accusative singular boton, plural botoj, accusative plural botojn)

1. boot

Further reading

• “boto”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “boto”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Fijian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

boto

1. frog, particularly Fiji ground frog (Cornufer vitianus), endemic to Fiji

   Synonym: dreli

   Near-synonym: ula (“Fiji tree frog (Platymantis vitiensis)”)

   Era dau kania na boto ko ira na iTaukei mai na colo i Viti Levu.

   The highland people of Viti Levu traditionally ate ground frogs.

2. (by extension) toad, particularly cane toad/marine toad (Rhinella marina), introduced to Fiji from Hawaii in 1936

   Na boto e kauta mai na gaga ena yago.

   The cane toad carries poison on its body.

Derived terms

• tui boto (“conga line (dance)”, literally “king frog”) (humorous)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “boto”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[3], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, pages 27–8

Galician

Boto or arroaz boto

Etymology 1

Either onomatopoeic, or from the same Germanic origin as Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (bauþs). Compare Dutch bot (“blunt, dull”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboto̝/

Noun

boto m (plural botos)

1. Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus)

   Synonym: arroaz boto

Adjective

boto (feminine bota, masculine plural botos, feminine plural botas)

1. blunt, dull

Etymology 2

From bota.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔto̝/

Noun

boto m (plural botos)

1. wineskin, waterskin

Etymology 3

Verb

boto

1. first-person singular present indicative of botar

References

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “boto”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “boto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “boto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “boto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Gothic

Romanization

bōtō

1. romanization of 𐌱𐍉𐍄𐍉

Hawaiian Creole

Etymology

From Ilocano buto (“penis”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boto/

Noun

boto

1. penis (genital)

Ido

Etymology

From Esperanto boto, English boot, French botte, Russian боти́нок (botínok), Spanish bota.

Noun

boto (plural boti)

1. boot

Derived terms

• boteto (“short boot, half-boot; shoe”)
• botizar (“to put boots on, boot”)

Javanese

Romanization

boto

1. nonstandard spelling of bata, romanization of ꦧꦠ

Makasar

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboto/, [ˈɓɔ.t̪ʰɔ]
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Noun

boto (Lontara spelling ᨅᨚᨈᨚ or 𑻤𑻶𑻦𑻶, definite botoa)

1. soothsayer; seer; diviner

Adjective

boto (Lontara spelling ᨅᨚᨈᨚ or 𑻤𑻶𑻦𑻶)

1. clever or skilled at uncovering hidden things; clairvoyant

   Botona anjo imanga

   How clever at divining that imam is.

Verb

boto (Lontara spelling ᨅᨚᨈᨚ or 𑻤𑻶𑻦𑻶, semi-transitive aʼboto, passive niboto)

1. (transitive) to guess (e.g., of riddles); to divine; to figure out

   Nabotoi anjo niaka ripaʼmaiʼna karaenga

   He divined what the king intended.

   Cobami boto

   Come on, guess it.

   Botomi lonnu caraʼdeʼ

   Guess it if you are clever.

   Botosainne bedeng: paʼlungang irate kayu

   Guess this: a pillow up in a tree (solution: a jackfruit).

Sinonym

• tappu

Derived terms

affixations

• aʼboto
• aʼboto-botoang
• aʼboto-botoeng
• boto-botoang

Further reading

• Cense, A. A. (1979), Makassaars-Nederlands woordenboek [Makasar-Dutch dictionary], 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page 130

Mogum

Noun

boto

1. sister

References

• Association pour la Promotion de la Langue Mogum, 2012, Usunoŋten nasarawe 1. Transition de mogoum en français.

Nias

Noun

boto (mutated form mboto)

1. body

References

• Sundermann, Heinrich. 1905. Niassisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Moers: Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, p. 47.

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *budô. Cognate to Old High German biotan (“to offer, send, command”).

Noun

boto m

1. messenger, envoy

Declension

Declension of boto (masculine n-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	boto	boton, botun
accusative	boton, botun	boton, botun
genitive	boten, botin	botōno
dative	boten, botin	botōm, botōn

Descendants

• Middle High German: bote
  • German: Bote

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Dutch boot and Portuguese bote and Spanish bote.

Noun

boto

1. boat, ship, vessel

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Unknown.

Alternative forms

• bôto (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbo.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbo.tu/

• Rhymes: -otu
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Noun

boto m (plural botos)

1. any dolphin, especially a freshwater one

   Synonyms: delfim, golfinho

2. (Brazil, strictly) Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)

   Synonym: boto-cor-de-rosa

Derived terms

• boto-amarelo
• boto-branco
• boto-cinza
• boto-comum
• boto-cor-de-rosa
• boto-de-óculos
• boto-preto
• boto-rosa
• boto-tucuxi
• boto-vermelho

Descendants

• → English: boto

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese boto of unknown origin. Perhaps a Germanic borrowing, from Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (bauþs, “dull, deaf”).

Alternative forms

• bôto (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbo.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbo.tu/

• Rhymes: -otu
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Adjective

boto (feminine bota, masculine plural botos, feminine plural botas)

1. dull (lacking a sharp edge or point)

   Synonyms: cego, embotado, rombo

2. dull; slow (unable to think quickly)

   Synonyms: devagar, embotado, lento

Etymology 3

From Konkani [script needed] (bhat), from Sanskrit भट्ट (bhaṭṭa).

Alternative forms

• bôto (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbo.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbo.tu/

• Rhymes: -otu
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Noun

boto m (plural botos)

1. (Hinduism) Bhat (Brahmin who has learned all the four Vedas)

Etymology 4

Unknown. Perhaps from a derivative of Late Latin buttis, butta (“barrel, cask”), or otherwise related to bota (“boot”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ.tu/

• Rhymes: -ɔtu
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Noun

boto m (plural botos)

1. (regional) wineskin, water skin (container for liquids made out of animal hide)

   Synonym: odre

Etymology 5

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ.tu/

• Rhymes: -ɔtu
• Hyphenation: bo‧to

Verb

boto

1. first-person singular present indicative of botar

Further reading

• “boto”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “boto”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “boto”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “boto”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboto/ [ˈbo.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -oto
• Syllabification: bo‧to
• Homophone: voto

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish [Term?], from Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (bauþs).

Adjective

boto (feminine bota, masculine plural botos, feminine plural botas)

1. blunt

   Synonym: romo

Derived terms

• embotar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

boto

1. first-person singular present indicative of botar

Further reading

• “boto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English boat or Dutch boot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boto/, [bʊ̞tʊ̞], [bɔ̝tɔ̝]

Noun

boto

1. boat

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish voto, from Latin vōtum. Doublet of boda.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈboto/ [ˈboː.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -oto
• Syllabification: bo‧to

Noun

boto (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜆᜓ)

1. vote

   Synonym: (for an election) halal

2. vow

Derived terms

• botohan
• bumoto
• iboto

Related terms

• bobotante
• botante
• deboto

Adjective

boto (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜆᜓ)

1. (by extension, colloquial) voting up; in favor of; rooting for; supporting; approving; agreeing; vouching something or someone

   Synonyms: sang-ayon, suportado, pabor, saludo, payag

   Mukhang boto si Mama kay Daniel bilang nobyo ni Kristine.

   It seems like Mommy is in favor of Daniel as the boyfriend of Kristine.

   (literally, “It seems Mommy votes up Daniel as the boyfriend of Kristine.”)

   Boto ako sa sinabi niya.

   I'm supporting what he said.

   (literally, “I'm casting the vote to what he said.”)

Further reading

• “boto”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

Toba Batak

Etymology

From Proto-Batak *bətəh.

Verb

boto (active umboto or mamboto)

1. to know

Venetan

Etymology

Related to the Italian verb buttare (“to toss, fling, throw about”), from Old French bouter (“to strike”).

Noun

boto m (plural boti)

1. explosion, bang
2. thud, thump
3. toll (of a bell)