savate

[ suh-vat ]

/ səˈvæt /

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noun

a sport resembling boxing but permitting blows to be delivered with the feet as well as the hands.

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Origin of savate

1860–65; <French: literally, old shoe. See sabot

Words nearby savate

Savannah sparrow, Savannakhet, savanna monkey, savant, savarin, savate, save, save-all, save as you earn, saved by the bell, save face

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How to use savate in a sentence

La savate—a military practice of beating with an old shoe soldiers unskilful at drill.
Bouvard and Pcuchet|Gustave Flaubert
Also he had practiced the Savate and was familiar with jiu jitsu—but he didn't need either of them.
The Vagrant Duke|George Gibbs
It is a development of the old sport of savate, in which the feet, and not the hands, were used in attack.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3|Various
He fought on with hands and feet, even drawing, against these odds, on the savate he had learned in Paris.
The Girl in the Mirror|Elizabeth Garver Jordan

Indeed, if the object of boxing be to use all means of offence and defence, the savate is indispensable.
Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopdia of Sports and Amusements|Various

British Dictionary definitions for savate

savate

/ (səˈvæt) /

noun

a form of boxing in which blows may be delivered with the feet as well as the hands

Word Origin for savate

C19: from French, literally: old worn-out shoe; related to sabot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012