The word in English literally means a profit or prize acquired in common as part of plunder or loot. Ill gotten gains or those acquired by criminal means are known as booty as well, so are the rewards gained by the victor in battle. Usually these gains required the use of violence and were acquired through force.
The word booty in its traditional sense undoubtedly referred to the spoils of war that the victor received at the end of a successful campaign. In ancient legends and history booty was perhaps the single most important reason why one community invaded another. Weather it was the Greeks invading Troy, the Huns in Eastern Europe or the Mongols in Asia the wars were ultimately fueled by a greed for more.
According to some the invasion of Iraq by America is nothing but a thirst for oil (oil being the booty). In certain cultures booty as a legitimate right of war became a part of culture as in the case of the Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia.
In a perverse sense booty has come to acquire a sexual connotation as well.
The word booty in its traditional sense undoubtedly referred to the spoils of war that the victor received at the end of a successful campaign. In ancient legends and history booty was perhaps the single most important reason why one community invaded another. Weather it was the Greeks invading Troy, the Huns in Eastern Europe or the Mongols in Asia the wars were ultimately fueled by a greed for more.
According to some the invasion of Iraq by America is nothing but a thirst for oil (oil being the booty). In certain cultures booty as a legitimate right of war became a part of culture as in the case of the Bedouin Arabs of Saudi Arabia.
In a perverse sense booty has come to acquire a sexual connotation as well.
