Galoshes

Galoshes (from French: galoches), also known as boat shoes, dickersons, or overshoes, are a type of rubber boot that is slipped over shoes to keep them from getting muddy or wet. The word galoshes might be used interchangeably with boot, especially a rubberized boot. Properly speaking, however, a galosh is an overshoe made of a weatherproof material to protect a more vulnerable shoe underneath and keep the foot warm and dry.

History

The word comes through French and Latin from Greek and originally meant a shoemaker's last; literally "wood" + "foot". By the 14 C it had been transferred to English style clogs, that is those with a wooden sole and fabric (e.g. leather) upper. By 1572 the term also applied to "a Gallage or Patten", that is an overshoe with a shaped wooden base to raise the wearer's good shoes out of the dirt.

In Turkey, the word refers to a polythene overshoe that is worn temporarily when visiting homes or offices, to protect the floors against dirt from the outside.