Boot device
A boot device makes the computer work. It is named after the boot which fits on the foot. The word bootstrap is also closely related, and means, to use something simpler to get something more complex to make itself work better.
Devices that can boot the computer are usually boot disks or boot drives (normally the hard drive, but can be the floppy disk or the CD). Some network computers use boot chips that get the operating system over the network. Web phones also use such chips to identify the user to the cell network. Boot card standards may let many users boot kiosk computers with full privacy and access to all applications ay own. There are also boot boards or boot add-in cards that are more permanent than boot cards.
Some people refer to the boot device as just the boot and non-boot devices as data devices, although it is not the computer but the operating system that cares about the difference between ase.
Origin[edit]
The boot in Boot device is the same as booting (or starting up). This is short for bootstrapping, or to start with simple stuff and make complex stuff out of it.