Gaiter

Gaiter (pronounced gey-ter)

(1) In fashion, a covering of cloth or leather for the ankle and instep and sometimes also the lower leg, worn over the shoe or boot.

(2) A waterproof covering for the ankle worn by climbers and walkers to prevent snow, mud, or gravel entering over the top of the boot.

(3) A cloth or leather shoe with elastic insertions at the sides.

(4) An overshoe with a fabric top.

1765-1775: From the French guêtre (belonging to peasant attire) from the Middle French guiestres (guestes the plural), from the Old French gueste, possibly from the Frankish wasta &  wastija (wrist) from the Proto-Germanic wastijō (garment; dress) and thus related to the German rist (wrist, ankle (and the source of the English wrist and the German Rist (instep)), from the primitive Indo-European root wer- (to turn, bend).  It was cognate with the Middle High German wester (a child's chrisom-cloth), the Middle High German westebarn (godchild), the Old English wæstling (a coverlet) and the Gothic wasti (garment; dress).  The original sense in English was "leather cover for the ankle".  Gaiter is a noun, the present participle is gaitering and the past participle gaitered; the noun plural is gaiters.

The related noun spat (short gaiter covering the ankle) which (except in technical and commercial use) is used only in the plural dates from 1779 and was a shortening of spatterdash (long gaiter to keep trousers or stockings from being spattered with mud), the construct being spatter + dash, the same idea as the noun dashboard which was a timber construction attached to the front of horse-drawn carriages to protect the passengers from mud or stones thrown up when the beasts were at a dash.  The figurative use of spats to refer the coverings used to conceal the (usually rear) wheels of a car by encapsulating the aperture described by the wheel-arch persisted in the UK and most of the old British Empire but in North America, "fender skirts" came to be preferred.

Spats (left) and gaiters (centre & right).  Historically, gaiters were either medium (mid-calf) or long (reaching to the knee) while the shorter variations, extending from ankle to instep, were known as spats.  In the fashion industry, the terms gaiters and spats are often used interchangeably and except among the equestrian and other horse-oriented crowds, they now exist only as a fashion item, improvements in the built-environment meaning the need for them as functional devices has diminished.  These days, spats tend to be seen only in places like the Royal Enclosure at Ascot or smart weddings (used as a wealth or class signifier) although variations are still part of some ceremonial full-dress military uniforms.  Technically, a spat probably can be called a “short” or “ankle-length” gaiter but it’s wise to use “spat” because gaiters are understood as extending higher towards the knee.

Lindsay Lohan in boots with emulated gaiters, on her way to frozen yoghurt shop, Los Angeles, 2009.

Historically, gaiters were detachable and secured with a variety of fastenings (buttons, ties, buckles and even zips and Velcro), the advantage being they could be cleaned separately from the clothing they were used to protect.  Particularly in the longer versions, the leg-warmer fad of the 1980s was a borrowing of the look.  Boots with what is essentially a contrasting panel (often of a suede-like material) extending from the ankles sometimes as high as just below the knee capture the look of the gaiter.