hobnail

American  

[hob-neyl] / ˈhɒbˌneɪl /

noun

1. a large-headed nail for protecting the soles of heavy boots and shoes.

2. a small allover pattern consisting of small tufts, as on fabrics, or of small studs, as on glass.

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hobnail British  

/ ˈhɒbˌneɪl /

noun

1. 1. a short nail with a large head for protecting the soles of heavy footwear

   2. ( as modifier )

      hobnail boots

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Other Word Forms

• hobnailed adjective

Etymology

Origin of hobnail

First recorded in 1585–95; hob ¹ + nail

Example Sentences

During his many trips to abandoned mines around mid Wales he has found a child's footprint, hobnail boots, tools, miners' gloves and a 170-year-old barrow "still where the miner originally left it".

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2024

A beefy man in hobnail cowboy boots met me at a swanky hotel in Dubai, then said he was reluctant to take on such a small but difficult job.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2022

If you know when and where to look, you can find sumptuous patches of violet blewits, a foreboding rust-colored tree pathogen called the “orange hobnail canker” and a honey-hued jelly fungi known as “witches’ butter.”

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2021

A hobnail or a piece of wampum far exceeds it. 

From Forbes • Aug. 18, 2014

Mike, on the cricket field, could not have looked anything but a cricketer if he had turned out in a tweed suit and hobnail boots.

From Mike and Psmith by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)