- footpad
- \ \ see PAD
Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
footpad
Look at other dictionaries:
Footpad — Foot pad , n. A highwayman or robber on foot. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
footpad — (n.) highway robber, 1680s, from FOOT (Cf. foot) (n.) + pad pathway, from M.Du. pad way, path, from P.Gmc. *patha way, path (see PATH (Cf. path)) … Etymology dictionary
footpad — [foot′pad΄] n. [see PAD4] a highwayman who traveled on foot … English World dictionary
Footpad — A footpad is a robber or thief specializing in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely throughout the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opposed to the… … Wikipedia
footpad — pad pad (p[a^]d), n. [D. pad. [root]21. See {Path}.] 1. A footpath; a road. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster] 2. An easy paced horse; a padnag. Addison [1913 Webster] An abbot on an ambling pad. Tennyson. [1913 Webster] 3. A robber that infests … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
footpad — /ˈfʊtpæd/ (say footpad) noun Obsolete a thief who robs on foot …
footpad — I. noun Etymology: foot + pad highwayman, probably from 3pad Date: 1678 a criminal who robs pedestrians II. noun Etymology: foot + 1pad Date: 1966 a flattish foot on the leg of a spacecraft for distributing weight to minimize sinking into a… … New Collegiate Dictionary
footpad — /foot pad /, n., v., footpadded, footpadding. n. 1. a highwayman or robber who goes on foot. v.i. 2. to proceed stealthily on foot. [1675 85; FOOT + PAD2] * * * … Universalium
footpad — noun a) The soft underside of an animals paw. The fraudulent clerk and the flash cracksman interchanged experiences. The smugglers stories of lucky ventures and successful runs were capped by the footpads reminiscences of foggy nights and stolen… … Wiktionary
footpad — see PAD … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
footpad — n. thief, highway robber … English contemporary dictionary
