hobnail

English

Etymology

hob +‎ nail

Noun

hobnail (plural hobnails)

  1. A short nail with a thick head, typically used in boot soles.
  2. (obsolete) A clownish person; a rustic.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

Translations

Verb

hobnail (third-person singular simple present hobnails, present participle hobnailing, simple past and past participle hobnailed)

  1. To fit with hobnails.
    a machine for the hobnailing of shoes
  2. (transitive) To tread down roughly, as with hobnailed shoes.
    • 1875, Tennyson, Queen Mary
      Your rights and charters hobnailed into slush.
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