chopine

American  

[choh-peen, chop-in] / tʃoʊˈpin, ˈtʃɒp ɪn /

Also chopin

noun

1. a shoe having a thick sole, usually of cork, suggesting a short stilt, worn especially by women in 18th-century Europe after its introduction from Turkey.

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chopine British  

/ tʃɒˈpiːn, ˈtʃɒpɪn /

noun

1. a sandal-like shoe on tall wooden or cork bases popular in the 18th century

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Etymology

Origin of chopine

1570–80; < Spanish chapín, equivalent to chap(a) (< Middle French chape chape ) + -in -in ¹

Example Sentences

One of the greatest follies ever introduced was the chopine, a sort of stilt which increased the height of the wearer.

From The Evolution of Fashion by Gardiner, Florence Mary

‘Your ladyship is nearer to heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine.’

From English Costume by Calthrop, Dion Clayton

The tallest chopine had a sole about nine inches thick.

From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse

"You will have a chopine of ale, Baldy," said he to the old wreck; "sometimes it's all the difference between hell-fire and content, and—for God's sake buy the bairn a pair of boots!"

From Doom Castle by Munro, Neil

Shakespeare refers to them when he makes Hamlet say:—"Your ladyship is nearer heaven than when I saw you last by the altitude of a chopine."

From The Evolution of Fashion by Gardiner, Florence Mary