# The Irish origin of the term boycott

**URL:** <https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/the-irish-origin-of-the-term-boycott/300>\
**Category:** Main Feed\
**Created:** [April 6, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/the-irish-origin-of-the-term-boycott/300 "2025-04-06T19:43:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Feminist\_Lo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/feminist_lo/32/5_2.png) [@Feminist\_Lo](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/u/Feminist_Lo)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/the-irish-origin-of-the-term-boycott/300/1 "2025-04-06T19:43:33Z")

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“Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English [land agent](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_agent) whose [ostracism](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracism)by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the term _[boycott](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott)_ . He had served in the [British Army](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army)[39th Foot](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/39th_(Dorsetshire)_Regiment_of_Foot), which brought him to Ireland. After retiring from the army, Boycott worked as a land agent for [Lord Erne](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Crichton,_3rd_Earl_Erne), a landowner in the [Lough Mask](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lough_Mask) area of [County Mayo](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Mayo). **Charles Cunningham Boycott** (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English [land agent](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_agent) whose [ostracism](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracism)by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the term _[boycott](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott)_ . He had served in the [British Army](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army)[39th Foot](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/39th_(Dorsetshire)_Regiment_of_Foot), which brought him to Ireland. After retiring from the army, Boycott worked as a land agent for [Lord Erne](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Crichton,_3rd_Earl_Erne), a landowner in the [Lough Mask](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lough_Mask) area of [County Mayo](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Mayo).”

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/uploads/spaceisameansofproduction/original/1X/5ca0d9f0a9e64ab1ca6280e2c9fa4f130cd42da8.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![Dulcie](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/dulcie/32/49_2.png) [@Dulcie](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/u/Dulcie)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2025, 11:33am UTC](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/the-irish-origin-of-the-term-boycott/300/2 "2025-04-07T11:33:10Z")

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Thanks for sharing @Feminist_Lo I have always wondered where the word “boycott” came from, now I know!

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**Author:** ![Jane](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/jane/32/323_2.png) [@Jane](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/u/Jane)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/the-irish-origin-of-the-term-boycott/300/3 "2025-04-09T15:52:46Z")

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I thought boycott was a verb. It is a verb, but I never thought it was a person’s name. Thank you for that great anecdote.