Galosh
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:; A waterproof overshoe used to provide protection from rain or snow. British
- 2 a waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow wordnet
- 3 An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:; A waterproof rubber boot, intended to be worn in wet or muddy conditions. US
- 4 A gaiter, or legging, covering the upper part of the shoe and part of the leg.
- 1 To walk while wearing, or as if wearing, galoshes; to splash about. intransitive
"My mother, at the age of seventeen, took them on single-handed, galoshing her way through the mud with bundles of tracts, not necessarily religious but always uplifting, and generous supplies of calves' foot jelly."
Example
More examples"My mother, at the age of seventeen, took them on single-handed, galoshing her way through the mud with bundles of tracts, not necessarily religious but always uplifting, and generous supplies of calves' foot jelly."
Etymology
From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“shoe with a wooden sole”), but further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient Greek κᾱλοπόδιον (kālopódion), diminutive of κᾱλόπους (kālópous, “shoemaker's block”), compound of κᾶλον (kâlon, “wood”) and πούς (poús, “foot”). (More at holt and foot.) * From Late Latin gallicula, diminutive of Latin gallica (solea) (“Gallic (sandal)”). * From Old French galette (“flat round cake”), from galet (“pebble”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.