buskin
/ˈbʌskɪn/ noun
Forms buskins
- noun (chiefly historical) A soft boot reaching to calf or knee height.
- noun (Catholicism) A pontifical vestment in the form of a silk stocking, sometimes embroidered or interwoven with gold thread, reaching to the base of the knee and worn over one’s regular socks but under episcopal sandals.
- noun (historical) A type of soft calf- or knee-high boot that laces up the front, sometimes featuring open toes or thick soles, worn in the Greco-Roman world by hunters and horsemen, as well as by actors in Athenian tragedy.
- noun (by extension) Tragic drama; tragedy.
- noun An instrument of torture for the foot; bootikin.
Synonyms
caliga cothurn cothurnus Melpomene combat boot desert boot half boot top boot
Etymology
Apparently from Old French bousequin, variant of brousequin (compare modern French brodequin), probably from Middle Dutch broseken, of unknown origin.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A strong, protecting covering for the foot, coming some distance up the leg. The hunted red deer's undressed hide Their hairy buskins well supplied. Sir W. Scott.
- noun A similar covering for the foot and leg, made with very thick soles, to give an appearance of elevation to the stature; --worn by tragic actors in ancient Greece and Rome. Used as a symbol of tragedy, or the tragic drama, as distinguished from comedy.
Etymology [Prob. from OF. brossequin, or D. broosken. See Brodekin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “buskin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details