hobnail

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English

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Etymology

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From hob +‎ nail. The oldest attestation is in William Shakespeare, but he likely did not coin the term.[1]

Noun

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hobnail (plural hobnails)

  1. A short nail with a thick head, typically used in boot soles.
  2. (obsolete) A yokel; a rustic.

Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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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, archaic) To tread down roughly, as with hobnailed shoes.
    • 1875, Tennyson, Queen Mary:
      Your rights and charters hobnailed into slush.

References

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  1. ^ Culpeper, Jonathan, Gillings, Mathew (2022 August 31) “Five myths about Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language”, in Arts + Culture, The Conversation, retrieved 2022-10-16

Further reading

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