Boodle is a slang term for money derived from the
Dutch word 'boedel' meaning property or estate.
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
inherited the word and its meaning from the Dutch, which probably accounts for its widespread use for money amongst English-speaking South Africans.
In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, particularly in the 19th century, "boodle jails" were jails where, on payment of a small fee to an officer,
tramp
A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round.
Etymology
Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English '' ...
s or
hobos could take up residence without being an actual prisoner. In the late-19th century, the Welsh tramp-poet
W. H. Davies took advantage of such an arrangement to spend the winter in a number of boodle jails in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. Here Davies could enjoy the comforts of "card-playing, singing, smoking, reading, relating experiences and occasionally taking exercise or going out for a walk."
[Hockey, L. (1971), ''W. H. Davies'', University of Wales Press (on behalf of the Welsh Arts Council), p.16]
References
{{wiktionary, boodle
Property