Middle English word boton comes from Frankish *bautan, Frankish *buttan, Proto-Germanic *bu(t/dʰ)néh₂-, Late Latin *bottonem, and later Frankish *bōtan (To beat.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *bautan | Frankish (frk) | |
| *buttan | Frankish (frk) | |
| *bu(t/dʰ)néh₂- | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
| *bottonem | Late Latin (LL) | |
| bōtan | Frankish (frk) | |
| *bōtan | Frankish (frk) | To beat. |
| buter | Old French (fro) | |
| boton | Old French (fro) | |
| botoun | Middle English (enm) |