Word of the Week: Boot camp

Everywhere I turn, there is a boot camp - whether it’s social media boot camp, career boot camp, management boot camp, ‘Be your own boss’ boot camp.

It’s everywhere at the moment. While I understand the logic behind organising a boot camp, I didn’t know where the word came from or it’s actual meaning. So this week’s Wednesday word of the week is ‘Boot camp.

Meaning of the the word ‘Boot Camp’

According to Collins Dictionary, it’s a noun and it means:

• A centre for juvenile offenders with strict discipline and hard physical exercise

According to Dictionary.com, it’s also a noun and defines it as

• a camp for training recruits

It adds a little bit more information:

1. A training camp for military recruits.
2. A correctional facility that uses the training techniques applied to military recruits to teach usually youthful offenders socially acceptable patterns of behavior.

While there are lots of management ‘boot camps’ around the world, I am hoping the training element rather than the correctional facility element is key to promoting the boot camps!

The word comes from America and is dated around 1940-1945 (dictonary.com)

Finally, there is no dictonary equivalent to bootcamp (all one word!).