Bootstrap

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbuːtˌstɹæp/

Definitions

1. To commence an endeavor or system utilizing limited resources without outside assistance
2. To initiate a project or operation relying solely on one’s own resources without external help
3. Starting something from the ground up using internal means and without outside support

Etymology: The idea behind "bootstrap" is a physical impossibility: lifting yourself off the ground by pulling on the straps of your own boots. The phrase "pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" was used figuratively to describe achieving something through sheer personal effort with no outside help, and the verb "bootstrap" grew out of that expression. Its sense of building something up unaided comes straight from that image. The word is a compound of "boot" and "strap," two plain English nouns. A bootstrap is the loop or tab sewn at the back or top of a boot, used to help pull it on. Nothing in the word's parts hints at the modern sense; it was the impossible image of the phrase that carried the meaning forward.

Synonyms: initiate, start, establish