the word was made during the "irish land war"'. it comes from the name of captain charles boycott. boycott was in charge of looking after the land of a landlord in county mayo, ireland. in 1880, the tenants (those who rented) wanted their rent lowered. boycott refused, and threw them out of the land they had rented. the irish land league then proposed that instead of becoming violent, everyone in the community should stop doing business with captain boycott. the captain was soon isolated. no one helped him with the harvest, no one worked in his stables or his house. local businessmen no longer traded with him, the postman no longer delivered his post.