galosh

noun, verb — 4 senses

galosh

noun

/ɡəˈlɒʃ/

Etymology From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“shoe with a wooden sole”), but further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient Greek κᾱλοπόδιον (kālopódion), diminutive of κᾱλόπους (kālópous, “shoemaker's block”), compound of κᾶλον (kâlon, “wood”) and πούς (poús, “foot”). (More at holt and foot.) * From Late Latin gallicula, diminutive of Latin gallica (solea) (“Gallic (sandal)”). * From Old French galette (“flat round cake”), from galet (“pebble”).

› An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:

1

UK A waterproof overshoe used to provide protection from rain or snow.

2

US A waterproof rubber boot, intended to be worn in wet or muddy conditions.

3

A gaiter, or legging, covering the upper part of the shoe and part of the leg.

Synonyms
Wellington boot, gumboot
Related terms
rainboot, overshoe, galoshe, galoche, gumshoe

galosh

verb

Etymology From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“shoe with a wooden sole”), but further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient Greek κᾱλοπόδιον (kālopódion), diminutive of κᾱλόπους (kālópous, “shoemaker's block”), compound of κᾶλον (kâlon, “wood”) and πούς (poús, “foot”). (More at holt and foot.) * From Late Latin gallicula, diminutive of Latin gallica (solea) (“Gallic (sandal)”). * From Old French galette (“flat round cake”), from galet (“pebble”).

1

To walk while wearing, or as if wearing, galoshes; to splash about.

  • My mother, at the age of seventeen, took them on single-handed, galoshing her way through the mud with bundles of tracts, not necessarily religious but always uplifting, and generous supplies of calves' foot jelly.1979, Penelope Mortimer, About Time: An Aspect of Autobiography, page 36:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.