This was the name for the servant in an inn or hotel whose job was to clean the boots of the customers. He was summoned or addressed by his professional title. The term is often found as a vocative in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature, e.g....

He that has good legs, has often bad boots. (German) Two boots make a pair....

A boot is a type of shoe that covers at least the foot and the ankle and sometimes extends up to the knee or even the hip. Most have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Traditionally...