Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A foot and leg covering reaching halfway to the knee, resembling a laced half boot.
- noun A thick-soled laced half boot worn by actors of Greek and Roman tragedies.
- noun Tragedy, especially that which resembles a Greek tragedy.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A half-boot or high shoe strapped or laced to the ankle and the lower part of the leg.
- noun A similar boot worn by the ancients; the cothurnus, particularly as worn by actors in tragedy. See
cothurnus . - noun Hence Tragedy or the tragic drama, as opposed to comedy.
- noun A low laced shoe worn by women.
- noun pl. Eccl., stockings forming a part of the canonicals of a bishop, usually made of satin or embroidered silk.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A strong, protecting covering for the foot, coming some distance up the leg.
- noun A similar covering for the foot and leg, made with very thick soles, to give an appearance of elevation to the stature; -- worn by tragic actors in ancient Greece and Rome. Used as a symbol of tragedy, or the tragic drama, as distinguished from comedy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun now historical A half-
boot . - noun A type of
boot worn by the ancient Athenian tragic actors; tragic drama,tragedy . - noun An
instrument oftorture for thefoot ;bootikin .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a boot reaching halfway up to the knee
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I remembered Horace's 'Praecipe lugubres cantus, Melpomene,' and Cowley's 'I called the buskin'd muse Melpomene and told her what sad story I would write,' and suggested Melpomene, or Penthos: Melpomene was adopted. ”
Autobiography Airy, George Biddell, Sir 1896
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But, apart from the soldiers, neither sex wore any head covering, their thick hair seeming to afford them all the protection needed from the fierce rays of the vertical sun; but both sexes wore a kind of buskin of soft leather reaching to just below the knee, the sole consisting of a shaped piece of thick hide stitched on to the under part of the buskin.
Through Veld and Forest An African Story Harry Collingwood 1886
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Pierre le grand: Or, "The poker chip" and "The buskin," Bacchus, and Aphrodite (not Venus), Comus, and Momus: exalting natural virtues and rebuking hypocracy both in church and state by J. W Rogers
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He cast the leathern brogue or buskin from his right foot, planted himself in a firm posture, unsheathed his sword, and first looking around to collect his resolution, he bowed three times deliberately towards the holly-tree, and as often to the little fountain, repeating at the same time, with a determined voice, the following rhyme:
The Monastery 2008
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The costume of an Amazonian crest and plume, a tucked-up vest, and a tight buskin of sky-blue silk, buckled with diamonds, reconciled Lady Binks to the part of Hippolyta.
Saint Ronan's Well 2008
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Ya know, I kinda like the Roman soldier buskin look, with the laces strapped around my legs.
Lace Lament kludge 2007
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(Id., acte i, scene 4) — The lonely east, how wearisome to me! — would not suit a lover in comedy; the figure of the “lonely east” is too elevated for the simplicity of the buskin.
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Mai fren wuz at SCA event, an da Wicked Tinkers wuz der too, buskin an stuff.
rockstah kitteh - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2007
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Chantilly, which appeared in yesterday's 'Musee,' the satirist, making some disgraceful allusions to the cobbler's change of name upon assuming the buskin, quoted a Latin line about which we have often conversed.
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It must be the reading of tragedies that fills them with this superstition for the buskin and the pall, and not a sympathy with existing nature and the spirit of the age.
Uncollected Prose 2006
sionnach commented on the word buskin
Mevroueeewen!
There's a sale on Manolo Blahkin buskins over at the Kaaaaterskill market. Deep discounts. Everything must go!
October 19, 2008
madmouth commented on the word buskin
as in `Buskin`d Amazon`
April 11, 2009
bilby commented on the word buskin
Warning: images of torture below.
April 30, 2014