Galoshes are a type of overshoe or

rubber boot A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly, and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot, is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber. Originally a type of leather riding boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military foot we ...

that is put on over

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

s to keep them from getting muddy or wet during inclement weather. They come in both low cut and high, and in both slip-on and buckle-front versions.

Names

The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

word ''galosh'', ''golosh'', etc., comes from

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

from

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

, a variant of

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

and , a partial

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

() from () and (), . The calopedes of

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

were a kind of wooden

clog Clogs are a type of footwear that has a thick, rigid sole typically made of wood, although in American English, shoes with rigid soles made of other materials are also called clogs. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective footwear in a ...

and the name was occasionally reused in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

for

pattens Pattens, also known by other names, are protective overshoes that were worn in Europe from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century. In appearance, they sometimes resembled contemporary clogs or sandals. Pattens were worn outdoors over a no ...

, wooden bottoms strapped to softer shoes to allow outdoor use. By the 14th century, ''galosh'' was also being used to refer to English-style clogs, shoes with a wooden sole and a full fabric or leather upper and then to any shoe or boot generally, a meaning it still bears in Azorean Portuguese. 1891_Wales_Goodyear_LincolnSt_Boston

''Galosh'' ultimately took on its present meaning from the patten usage, describing an ''overshoe'' worn at sea or in inclement weather. In time made from

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

they gained the names ''rubbers'', ''rubber boots'', and ''gumshoes'' (from

gum rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

, a term also applied to rubber-soled "street" shoes, crepe-soled shoes and boots, and

sneaker Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

s). Today flexible

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

s such as

PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...

are often used. Galoshes are overshoes, and not to be confused with the form of large slip-on rubber boots (known in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Wellington boot A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly, and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot, is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber. Originally a type of leather riding boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military foot we ...

s). A protective layer (made variously of

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

, rubber, or synthetic

ripstop __NOTOC__ Ripstop is a woven Textile, fabric, often made of nylon, using a reinforcing technique that makes it more resistant to tearing and wear. During weaving, stronger (and often thicker) reinforcement yarns are interwoven at regular interv ...

material) that only wraps around a shoe's upper is known as a spat or

gaiter Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and bottom of the pant or trouser leg and used primarily as personal protective equipment, in particular against snakebite. They are also commonly used to keep the bottom of the pant-leg dry when hiking ...

. Among bootmakers, a ''galosh'' is also a piece of

welt Welt, welts or variants may refer to: Media * ''Die Welt'' (''The World''), a German national newspaper ** ''Welt am Sonntag'' (''World on Sunday''), the Sunday edition of ''Die Welt'' * '' Die Welt (Herzl)'', former weekly newspaper in Vienna, ...

-like leather like a that runs around the top of the sole between it and the uppers. In Turkish contexts, most often refers to smaller overshoes that are worn indoors to keep from tracking mud or dirt onto the floor. ''Türk Dil Kurumu''. TDK. 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020. Note: Insert the word galoş in the translated search bar.

History

The transition from a traditional wooden sole galosh to one of

vulcanized Vulcanization (British English: vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to ...

may be attributed to

Charles Goodyear Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844 ...

and Leverett Candee. The qualities of rubber, though fascinating to Goodyear, were highly dependent on temperature: it was tacky when hot, brittle when cold. Vulcanization of rubber tempered its properties so that it was easily molded, durable, and tough. A rubberized elastic webbing made Goodyear's galoshes () easy to pull on and off. Beginning in the early 20th century, galoshes were almost universally made of rubber. Overshoes have evolved in the past decades and now are being made of more advanced materials with new features, such as high traction outsoles.

References

Notes Bibliography * Canizares, George. ''"Galosh Revolution."'' US Airways Attache (December 1998): 30. * Lawlor, Laurie. ''Where Will This Shoe Take You? A Walk Through the History of Footwear.'' New York: Walker and Company, 1996. * Moilliet, J. L., ed. ''Waterproofing and Water-Repellency.'' London: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1963. * O'Keefe, Linda. ''Shoes: A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers, & More.'' New York: Workman Publishing, 1996. * Yue, Charlotte and David. ''Shoes: Their History in Words and Pictures.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

External links

* {{Footwear Footwear accessories 1920s fashion

Names

History

See also

References

External links