footpad

C2 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /ˈfʊtˌpæd/ UK /ˈfʊtˌpæd/ See IPA manual

Freq #147303

Meanings

1

noun
historical: a robber who traveled and attacked people on foot rather than on horseback

Travelers avoided the lonely road after dusk because a footpad had robbed two merchants there.
2

noun
a padded or flattened surface that supports, protects, or forms a foot, paw, leg, or landing support

Each leg of the machine ends in a broad footpad that spreads its weight across the floor.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · historical: a robber who... highway robberhighwayman brigandpadder

2 noun · a padded or flattened... support padfoot cushionbase pad

Word family

Forms footpads

Derived forms footpadderyfootpadism

Related forms robber highwayman pad pickpocket

Etymology

A compound of foot + pad. The seventeenth-century robber sense contrasts a criminal traveling on foot with a mounted highwayman; pad may also have suggested a road or a person who tramped it. The support and cushioning senses are transparent later combinations of foot and pad.

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# footpad

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfʊtˌpæd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfʊtˌpæd/
**Frequency rank:** 147303

## Meanings
1. historical: a robber who traveled and attacked people on foot rather than on horseback
2. a padded or flattened surface that supports, protects, or forms a foot, paw, leg, or landing support

## Examples
- Travelers avoided the lonely road after dusk because a footpad had robbed two merchants there.
- Each leg of the machine ends in a broad footpad that spreads its weight across the floor.

## Synonyms
- highway robber
- highwayman
- brigand
- padder
- support pad

## Derived Forms
- footpaddery
- footpadism

## Related Forms
- robber
- highwayman
- pad
- pickpocket

## Etymology
A compound of foot + pad. The seventeenth-century robber sense contrasts a criminal traveling on foot with a mounted highwayman; pad may also have suggested a road or a person who tramped it. The support and cushioning senses are transparent later combinations of foot and pad.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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