Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hobnail

/hˈɑbnˌeɪl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.64 in modern English

Syllables: hob-nail
IPA: /hˈɑbnˌeɪl/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A short nail with a thick head, typically used in boot soles.

noun

A yokel; a rustic.

Obsolete

verb

To fit with hobnails.

verb

To tread down roughly, as with hobnailed shoes.

Archaic; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Next, the word Politician is not us'd to his maw, and therupon he plays the most notorious hobbihors, jesting and frisking in the luxury of his non-sense with such poor fetches to cog a laughter from us, that no antic hobnaile at a Morris, but is more hansomly facetious."
"There lay Tom; hobnail Tom! a bacon-munching, reckless, beer-swilling animal! and yet a man …"
"a machine for the hobnailing of shoes"
"Your rights and charters hobnailed into slush."

Etymology

From hob + nail. The oldest attestation is in William Shakespeare, but he likely did not coin the term.

Usage

Inflected Forms

hobnails (plural) hobnails (present, singular) hobnailing (participle, present) hobnailed (participle, past) hobnailed (past)

Derived Forms

hobnailer

Phrases

hobnail boot hobnail liver

Frequently Paired Words

blakey seg shoe protector

Questions

How do you pronounce hobnail?: The recorded pronunciation is /hˈɑbnˌeɪl/.
What does hobnail mean?: A short nail with a thick head, typically used in boot soles.
Where does hobnail come from?: From hob + nail. The oldest attestation is in William Shakespeare, but he likely did not coin the term.

How to pronounce hobnail

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hobnail”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hˈɑbnˌeɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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