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Bootstrap is a program that initializes the operating system (OS) during startup. The term bootstrap or bootstrapping originated in the early 1950s. It referred to a bootstrap load button that was used to initiate a hardwired bootstrap program, or smaller program that executed a larger program such as the OS. The term was said to be derived from the expression “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps,” starting small and loading programs one at a time while each program is “laced” or connected to the next program to be executed in sequence.

Source: Technopedia-Bootstrap