Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SHOE, n. [plur. Shoes. Sax. sceo, sceog; G. schuh; D. schoen; Sw. sko; Dan. skoe, a shoe; skoer, to bind with iron, to shoe. It is uncertain to what this word was originally applied, whether to a band of iron, or to something worn on the human foot. It is a contracted word. In G. handschuh, hand-shoe, is a glove. The sense is probably a cover, or that which is put on.]

1. A covering for the foot, usually of leather, composed of a thick species for the sole, and a thinner kind for the vamp and quarters. Shoes for ladies often have some species or cloth for the vamp and quarters.
2. A plate or rim of iron nailed to the hoof of a horse to defend it from injury; also, a plate of iron for an ox's hoot one for each division of the hoof. Oxen are shod in New England, sometimes to defend the hoof from injury in stony places, more generally to enable them to walk on ice, in which case the shoes are armed with sharp points. This is called calking.
3. The plate of iron which is nailed to the bottom of the runner of a sleigh, or any vehicle that slides on the snow in winter.
4. A piece of timber fastened with pins to the bottom of the runners of a sled, to prevent them from wearing.
5. Something in form of a shoe.
6. A cover for defense. Shoe of an anchor, a small block of wood, convex on the back, with a hole to receive the point of the anchor fluke; used to prevent the anchor from tearing the planks of the ship's bow, when raised or lowered. – Mar. Dict.