hobnail en · NOUN
Etymology
From hob + nail. The oldest attestation is in William Shakespeare, but he likely did not coin the term.
Meanings
- A short nail with a thick head, typically used in boot soles.
-
(obsolete) A yokel; a rustic.
There lay Tom; hobnail Tom! a bacon-munching, reckless, beer-swilling animal! and yet a man …
1859, George Meredith, chapter 9, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC:Next, the word Politician is not us'd to his maw, and therupon he plays the most notorious hobbihors, jesting and frisking in the luxury of his non-sense with such poor fetches to cog a laughter from us, that no antic hobnaile at a Morris, but is more hansomly facetious.
1645 March 14 (Gregorian calendar), J[ohn] M[ilton], Colasterion: A Reply to a Nameles Answer against The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. […], [London?]: [s.n.], →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| hobnails | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
shoe protector · blakey · seg
Deriveds
hobnail boot · hobnailer · hobnail liver
Translations (10)
de Stiefelnagel (short nail with a thick head) · de Schuhzwecke (short nail with a thick head) · es tachuela (short nail with a thick head) · fi hokki (short nail with a thick head) · vo jukakluf (short nail with a thick head) · de Schuhnagel (short nail with a thick head) · bg кабър (short nail with a thick head) · cs cvok (short nail with a thick head) · vo jukaklufil (short nail with a thick head) · sh klinac (short nail with a thick head)
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