moccasin

Noun

moccasin (plural moccasins)

1. A traditional Native North American shoe, usually without a heel or sole, made of a piece of deerskin or other soft leather turned up at the edges which are either stitched together at the top of the shoe, or sewn to a vamp (a piece covering the top of the foot).
   • The term Chippewa, which is generally applied to this nation, is derived from that of O̓ˊche̓pe̓ˊwa̓g, which they restrict to the Indians who reside near Fond du Lac, it signifies plaited shoes, from the fashion among those Indians of puckering their moccassins.1824, William H[ypolitus] Keating, “Account of the Chippewa Indians. Their Usages, Manners, and Customs.”, in A Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter’s River, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of...
   • At length Chingachgook turned his eyes slowly towards his son, and demanded— / "Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of their moccasins in these woods?" / "I have been on their trail," replied the young Indian, "and know that they number as many as the fingers of my two hands; but they lie hid...1826, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter III, in The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea— […], →OCLC, page 38

   Synonyms:

   moc

2. A modern shoe with either a low or no heel resembling a traditional Native American moccasin in that the leather forming the sides of the shoe is stitched at the top.
   • Walking moccasin of gray chrome tanned leather. Waterproof. Flexible elk sole.1915 January, Robert Lloyd Trevor, “Shopping for the Well-dressed Man: The Parka and a New Overcoat, Some Shoes, Socks and a Muffler”, in Frank Crowninshield, editor, Vanity Fair, volume 3, number 5...
   • The men's shoe, a classic, low-heeled moccasin, was called Model 175. A classier women's version soon followed.2000, Sara Gay Forden, The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins...
3. A light beige colour, like that of a moccasin.
   • He came in a primitive, rickety buggy, drawn by an old, moccasin-colored horse, which, it is to be hoped, had seen better days.1898 October, Leverett W. Spring, “The Career of a Kansas Politician”, in J[ohn] Franklin Jameson, editor, The American Historical Review, volume IV, number 1, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...
   • I prefer the Culprit brand in the moccasin color, the red shad color and the black with blue tail.1993, W[alter] Horace Carter, Bud Andrews, Headstart Fishing Handbook, Tabor City, N.C.: Atlantic Pub. Co., →ISBN, page 134
4. Any of several North American snakes of the genus Agkistrodon, particularly the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and the cottonmouth or water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus).
   • The moccaſin ſnake is a large and horrid ſerpent to all appearance, and there are very terrifying ſtories related of him by the inhabitants of the Southern ſtates, where they greatly abound, particularly in Eaſt Florida: that their bite is always incurable, the fleſh for a conſiderable ſpace about...1791, William Bartram, chapter X, in Travels through North and South Carolina, […], Philadelphia, Pa.: Printed by James and Johnson; London: Reprinted for J. Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC, page...
   • The excellence of alkaline salts, as antidotes to the venom of serpents, has long been established. The volatile alkali is a common remedy in India for the bite of the cobra copella and viper, &c. The poison of the moccasin and rattlesnake is immediately counteracted by the application of this...1843 March 8, E. J. Ferguson, “On the Treatment of Hydrophobia”, in J[erome] V[an] C[roninsfield] Smith, editor, The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, volume XXVIII, number 7, Boston, Mass.: D....