boicotear

to boycott

verb boy-koh-teh-AHR Rare

Origin: From the name of Captain Charles Boycott, the 19th-century Irish land agent against whom this tactic was first used.

Usage Note

Boicotear is a regular -ar verb borrowed from English 'boycott' via French. The related noun is boicot (also spelled boicoteo). It appears in political, labour, and consumer contexts. The word is a good reminder that Spanish freely absorbs proper-name eponyms the same way English does.

Examples

"Los sindicatos decidieron boicotear la reunión."

Natural Translation

The unions decided to boycott the meeting.

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