Word of the Day: June 6, 2009 - plimsoll

plimsoll (plim-suh) - noun

A plimsoll is "a canvas shoe with a rubber sole; gym shoe; sneaker."

First used in the written form around 1880–1885. The British politician and social reformer Samuel Plimsoll (1824-98) was one of the leading instigators of the Merchant Shipping Act 1876. Amongst its provisions was that a line should be painted around the hulls of ships to indicate a safe limit for loading. This was Plimsoll's idea, and it became known as the Plimsoll line. It is thought that the word plimsoll was applied to gym shoes in allusion to the line running around the shoes formed by the rubber welt or trimming.