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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Moccasin (disambiguation).
A soft-soled moccasin.

A moccasin is a shoe made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel of leather). The sole is soft and flexible and the upper part often is adorned with embroidery or beading, et cetera. Historically, it is the footwear of many Native American tribes; moreover, hunters, traders, and European settlers wore them. Etymologically, the moccasin derives from the Algonquian language Powhatan word makasin (cognate to Massachusett mohkisson / mokussin, Ojibwa makizin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn), [1][2] and from the Proto-Algonquian word *maxkeseni (shoe). [3]

Contents

Design

Beaded moccasins original to the estate of Chief Washakie, Wind River Reservation (Shoshone), Wyoming, c.1900

Moccasins protect the foot whilst allowing the wearer to feel the ground. The Plains Indians wore hard-sole moccasins, given that their territorial geography featured rock and cacti. The eastern Indian tribes wore soft-sole moccasins, for walking in leaf-covered forest ground.

Contemporary use

Today, moccasins usually are part of a Native American regalia, e.g. a powwow suit of clothes. The most common style is that of the Plains Indian moccasin. In New Zealand and Australia sheep shearers' moccasins are constructed of a synthetic, cream-coloured felt, with a back seam and gathered at the top of the rounded toe. These moccasins are laced in the front, and the lacing is covered with a flap fastened with a buckle at the shoe's outer side. The fastener arrangement prevents the shearer's handpiece comb from catching in the laces. [4] Shearers' moccasins protect the feet, grip wooden floors well, and absorb sweat. [5]

The word moccasin might also denote a shoe of deer or of faux leather adorned with laces; recently, the moccasin shoe has resurged as a popular form slipper shoe for men.

See also

References

  1. ^ moccasin: definition, usage and pronunciation - YourDictionary.com
  2. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
  3. ^ moccasin - Definitions from Dictionary.com
  4. ^ 97/311/1 Shearing moccasins (pair), mens, synthetic felt, Australia, 1997 - Powerhouse Museum Collection, Retrieved on 10 November 2008
  5. ^ Sheep parasites Retrieved on 10 November 2008

External links

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Footwear
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1911 encyclopedia

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From LoveToKnow 1911

MOCCASIN (a North-American Indian word, of which the spelling and pronunciation vary in different dialects), a shoe made of deerskin or other soft leather. It is made in one piece; the sole is soft and flexible and the upper part is often adorned with embroidery, beading or other ornament. It is the footwear of the North American Indian tribes and is also worn by hunters, traders and settlers. In botany, the lady's slipper is known in the United States of America, as the "moccasin flower," from its resemblance to a shoe or moccasin. The name moccasin is also given to a venomous snake, found as far north as North Carolina and westward to the Rocky Mountains, and popularly called "cottonmouth," from the white rim around the mouth. It belongs to the family Crotalidae, species Ancistrodon (or Cenchris) piscivorus, is about two feet long, and is often found in marshy land. It is sometimes called the water moccasin to distinguish it from the upland moccasin (Ancistrodon contortrix or atrofuscus), which is commonly called "copperhead" and is found further north in dry and mountainous regions. The name is possibly a distinct word of which the origin has not been traced.


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