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

short nail with a thick head

• German: Schuhnagel (de) m, Schuhzwecke (de) m, Stiefelnagel (de) m

• Volapük: jukakluf (vo), (diminutive) jukaklufil (vo)

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.