pastala

This word, already mentioned in 14th-century texts, is traditionally considered a borrowing from Russian посто́лы (postóly) (dialectal), itself apparently a borrowing from Turkish postal (“shoe”), from post (“skin, leather”). More recently, it has been suggested that it may be derived from the stem of stāt (“to stop, to stand”); cf. Lithuanian pastõlas, pastõlis (“base, support”). If this is true, the original meaning of pastala would have been “that which is located under (something else).” Some Old Prussian place names (Pastoline, Pastelina) appear to contain a cognate of this word.[1]

• IPA^(key): [pastala]

pastala f (4th declension)

1. (usually in the plural) simple, primitive shoes made of one piece of leather without seams and with straps or laces on top

   dziļās pastalas ― deep pastalas

   Sīmanis apsēdās grāvmālē atpūsties, savilka ciešāk atslābušās pastalu auklas ― Sīmanis sat down by the ditch to rest (and) tightened his loose pastala laces

• apavs