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Big Black Boots
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The Dictionary:

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This multi-language dictionary is intended to help those whose primary language is not English. Many of the words we use to describe features of boots are not in language dictionaries. Automatic translations services from online services such as Google Translation and Babelfish often can't translate some of our descriptions because these terms are meaningful only when describing boots or leather and may have different meanings in other contexts.

So we have made this multi-language dictionary to help solve that problem.

We would like to especially thank Matthias Kottmeier for German translations and also for suggestions on additional terms to include in this dictionary.

If you are able to fill in some of the blanks, we welcome your input. Please send your comments, corrections, suggestions or translations to

Multilingual Dictionary of Boot Terminology

'Traduttore, traditore' !

Updated / Mise à jour / Aktualisiert / Actualizado / 更新 / Aggiornamento / 更新日 - 1 August 2011

English Remark français Deutsch Español 中文 Chinese Italien 日本語 Japanese
ankle cheville Knöchel tobillo 脚踝 caviglia 足首
arch arch of foot - heel measurement voûte plantaire Bogen/Fußrücken
bal-laced instep geschnürter Spann
belt ceinture Gürtel cinturón 腰带;皮带 ベルト
boot hook device to help pull boots on Schuhhaken
boot jack device to help pull boots off tire-bottes Stiefelknecht ブーツジャック
boot toe bout Stiefelspitze
boot tongue languette Stiefellasche/-zunge
bootmaker bottier Schuhmacher 制靴者
boots bottes, chaussures Stiefel botos stivali ブーツ
boot tree wooden form inserted into boot to preserve its shape embauchoirs Stiefelspanner hormas
brass cuivre Messing latón 黄铜 真ちゅう
breeches culottes Reithosen
broken in boots boots which have been worn cassée eingetragene Stiefel
buckles boucle Schnallen hebilla 搭扣 バックル
calf thickest part of the lower leg mollet Wade ふくらはぎ
calfskin leather peau de veau Kalbsleder 小牛皮 子牛革
chaps chaps Chaps
circumference circonférence Umfang 円周
clothing vêtements Kleidung 衣服
cowhide leather peau de vache Rindsleder cuero 牛皮 牛革
custom made made to order fabriqué sur commande maßgearbeitet オーダーメイド
dress instep standard instep without laces on pull-on boots "Schlupf"einstieg
drop / settling nachgeben, sich setzen
equestrian équestre Reiter equitacion equitazione 乗馬者
eyelets also see "holes" oeillet Ösen ojal 鸡眼 ひも通しの穴
fireman pompier Feuerwehrmann bombero 消防队员 消防士
fit measure of how well boots conform to the foot Paßgenauigkeit
flat feet "pes planus" - feet with a low arch pied plat Plattfüße
floor sol Boden
glove leather Handschuhleder
grain grain Korn/Körnung/Narbung
gusseted tongue languette à soufflets eingenähte Lasche
harness harnais Gurtzeug
heel talon Absatz talón 足跟;鞋 かかと
height hauteur Höhe 高度 高さ
hole also see "eyelets" trous loch agujeros
horsehide cuir de cheval Pferdeleder 马皮 馬革
inch 2.54 cm pouce Zoll 英寸 インチ
inseam Entrejambe Schrittlänge inseam 内側の縫目
insole première semelle Brandsohle plantilla 中底
instep of foot cou-de-pied Spann empeine 足の甲
instep of shoe 靴の甲
insulation isolement Isolation aislamiento 绝缘 断熱材
jacket veste Jacke chaqueta ジャケット
jeans Dungarees, blue jeans, denim jeans jeans Jeans ジーンズ
knee genou Knie 膝盖
laces laçage / lacets Schnürsenkel cordones 靴ひも
lacing hook see "boot hook" Senkelhaken(-niete)
last wooden or plastic form on which boot is built forme Leisten 靴型
leather cuir Leder piel pelle
lineman monteur de ligne Leitungsmonteur ラインマン
lining doublure Futter 裏地
logger / lumberjack forestier; bûcheron Förster 木こり
made to measure fait sur mesure nach Maß gemacht
measure (v) mesurer Messung / Maß 靴型
measuring tape tailor's tape ruban à mesurer Maßarbeit 捲尺 巻き尺
midsole garnissage Zwischensohle ミッドソール
motor patrol police motorcycle officer Motorpatrouille Motorradpolizist
motorcycle moto Motorrad motocicleta オートバイ
nickel nickel Nickel níquel
oil-tanned leather cuir gras mit Mineralöl gegerbtes Leder オイルレザー
padding rembourrage Polsterung 詰め物
pants / trousers pantalon Hose(n) pantalones ズボン
police police Polizei policía 警察
ready to wear prêt à porter Konfektion/von der Stange 准备穿 プレタポルテ
roughout leather cuirs velours veloursleder cuero de ante 光滑皮革 pelle scamosciata
rubber caoutchouc Gummi caucho gomma ゴム
settling / drop nachgeben, sich setzen (fallen)
seam couture Naht 縫い目
shaft shaft of a boot tige Schaft シャフト
shiny luisantes blank 光沢
size(s) taille Größe(n) Misura サイズ
sleeve manche Ärmel そで
smooth leather cuir lisse glattleder cuero suave pelle liscia スムーズレザー
snaps Druckknöpfe スナップボタン
socks bas Socken 靴下
sole outer sole - bottom of boot semelle extérieure Laufsohle plantas 鞋底 suole ソール
spur éperon Sporen
steel safety toe cap d'acier; bout acier Stahlkappe punta de acero 钢脚趾 in acciaio tep 鋼の安全性のつま先
steel shank cambrion d'acier Stahleinlage (im Absatz)
steel sole plate semelle anti perforation Stahlsohle
stitchdown sole durchgenähte Sohle
stock boots standard boots - no custom features prêts à porter, bottes en stock Stiefel auf Lager
strap sangle Riemen 革ひも、ストラップ
sweat perspiration transpiration Schweiß sudoración 汗水 sudore
tailor's tape measuring tape ruban à mesurer Maßarbeit 捲尺
tanning tannage Gerben von Leder curtido de cuero 制革 concia delle pelli 革なめし
thread fil Faden 线
thigh cuisse (Ober) Schenkel
toe cap Schuhkappe
tongue languette Lasche lengüeta linguetta 舌革
waterproof hydrofuge wasserdicht 防水
width largeur Weite Tallas
zipper glissière Reißverschluß cremallera 拉链 ジッパー

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Last edited 23 January, 2012 at 23:58 GMT