Shoes Were Not Made for Left and Right Until the 1800s
A shoe is a covering for the foot. Matched left and right shoes are a modern idea.
A shoe is a covering for the foot, usually with a firm sole. For most of history shoes were *straights*, made on a single symmetrical last and worn on either foot — the wearer broke them in and they gradually took the shape of whichever foot wore them. Left and right lasts became standard only in the nineteenth century, after mechanised production made two shapes practical. The plural was once *shoon*, an old *-en* plural like *oxen*, and it survived in poetry into the twentieth century.
- Footwear. *A pair of shoes.*
- A horseshoe. *A horseshoe.*
- To fit with shoes. *Shoeing a horse.*
- Shoon — the old plural. *Shoon.*
- Old English — *scoh*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shoe | A shoe. |
| Plural | shoes | Shoes. |
| Archaic plural | shoon | Shoon. |
| Verb | shoe | Shoeing. |
| Past | shod | Shod. |
- She put on her shoes.Footwear.
- Straights fitted either foot.History.
- The horse was shod.Verb.
Shoe idioms
- In someone's shoes — in their position
- If the shoe fits — accept the description
- Waiting for the other shoe to drop — expecting a consequence
- Goody two-shoes — from an eighteenth-century children's tale
- Shoestring — a very small budget
Old English *scoh*, of Germanic origin, related to Dutch *schoen* and German *Schuh*.
When did left and right shoes appear?
In the nineteenth century. Before that most shoes were symmetrical straights worn on either foot.
What was shoon?
An older plural of shoe, formed like oxen, which survived in poetry long after everyday speech dropped it.