Bothie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, basic hut or shelter, often in the Scottish Highlands, used by walkers or farm workers for rest
2. A rough, simple cottage or hut that provides basic lodging, especially for laborers or hikers in remote country
3. A primitive little shelter in the countryside, traditionally used as lodging by farmhands or travelers in Scotland

Etymology: The word "bothie" is simply an alternative spelling of "bothy", a small rough hut or shelter, most familiar today from the remote huts of the Scottish Highlands and islands where walkers can spend the night. Its sound is the surprise: the vowel is short, as in "moth", although its parent word "booth" has a long vowel, as in "tooth". The likely reason is the Irish word "both" and the Scottish Gaelic "both", meaning "booth, hut", which share the same origin as "booth" and may have pulled the vowel shorter in English. The deeper history runs back to a Proto-Germanic word "bōþō", meaning a building or dwelling, derived from a verb meaning "to dwell, reside". That same root gave Old Norse "búð" and, through Middle English "bothe", the English "booth", a temporary structure such as a market stall. "Bothy" is probably "booth" with the diminutive suffix "-y", so the name amounts to "little booth". The spelling "bothie" follows the Scots habit of ending such words in "-ie".