calkin
(ˈkɔːkɪn, ˈkælkɪn)
Forms: (5 kakun), 6 calkyn, 7 cawkin, 7– calkin, calking.
[Possibly going back to a ME. *calkain, a. OF. calcain heel:—L. calcāneum heel; but the earliest form kakun agrees with the Du. kalkoen, MDu. calcoen ‘ungula,’ f. L. calx. Some orthoepists treat (ˈkɔːkɪn) as only a vulgar or colloquial pronunciation, but others know no other.]
1. The turned-down ends of a horse-shoe which raise the horse's heels from the ground; also a turned edge under the front of the shoe; applied esp. to these parts when sharpened in a frost.
| 1445 O. Bokenham Female Saints (1683) 223 Tweyn hors..Of wych the toon hym greuously boot, And wyth hys kakun the tother hym smoot. 1587 Holinshed Scot. Chron. U iij b, Causyng a smyth to shoe three horses for him contrarily, with the calkyns forward. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 322 Little gravel stones getting betwixt the hoof, or calking, or spunge of the [horse's] shooe. 1610 Markham Masterp. ii. xcvii. 387 Let your [horse-]shooes behinde haue a cawkin on the out-side. 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict. I. s.v. Bleymes, Calkings spoil the Feet of a Horse. 1868 Regul. & Ord. Army ¶1214 The calkins of the hind shoes are to be removed, as these are not needed on board. |
2. The irons nailed on the heels and soles of strong shoes or clogs to make them wear longer.
| 1832 Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 314 The price of men's clogs is five shillings..This price includes calking, i.e. the iron-work. |