French heel

American  

noun

1. a high, curved heel, characterized by a heel breast curving into a shank, used on women's shoes.

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French heel British  

noun

1. a fairly high and narrow-waisted heel on women's shoes

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Other Word Forms

• French-heeled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of French heel

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

French heel

After the devil had made all the trouble for woman he could with the fig leaf, he introduced the French heel.

From An Ambitious Man by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I was just fishing for an opening to land when Wilbur stayed my upraised arm, and I could only give her a kick on the limb with my French heel.

From The Sorrows of a Show Girl by Kenneth McGaffey

He caught the French heel in a sudden swipe and the slipper went scudding off into the bushes.

From Stubble by George Looms

I think it was the eldest Miss Lopez; I couldn't see her face, but I remember looking at the high French heel of her little shoe.

From Nostromo, a Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad

The rest walked upon clattering pattens, like a French heel set by the cobbler’s mistake at the instep.

From The Readjustment by Will Irwin