springheel

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From spring +‎ heel.

Noun

springheel (plural springheels)

  1. A type of shoe popular in the 19th century that had a low internal heel; also, the low internal heel of these shoes.
    • 1892, 1642-1892: Legends of Woburn, page 52:
      The gentlemen always wore "pumps" as they were called, that is, very light turned slippers without innersole or heel, the soles of the best specimens, being well pounded to make them soft and pliable; while the ladies wore a light shoe called a "runround," or "springheel," usually held snug in place by long ribbons passing herring-bone-like around the ankles.
    • 1910, Marion Louise Barber, “The Baby's Shoes”, in The Mother-heart: A Few Lines, page 29:
      The baby's shoes, the tips now slightly worn, Their springheels frayed by running o'er the floor— Lay them away, with heartstrings wrenched and torn, For baby's feet will wear them never more.
    • 1912, The Register of the Lynn Historical Society:
      Previous to the fifties, most of the shoes made were welts, or spring heels, and later most of the work changed to turns or "runrounds" as they were called.
    • 1943, Eloise Paxton Hutchison, Out of the Past, page 38:
      The springheel shoes we wore were comfort itself and the wonder is they ever went out of style .
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