define the term bootstrapping
Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Bootstrapping or booting refers to a group of metaphors which refer to a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help. The phrase appears to have originated in the early 19th century United States, to mean an absurdly impossible action, an adynaton. Dr. Douglas Engelbart used the term centrally in his work from 1970 to 2010, referring to the process used by lumberjacks to hoist themselves up trees using a strap wrapped around the tree.