Sole

Sole (pronounced sohl)

(1) Being the only one; only.

(2) Being the only one of the kind; unique; unsurpassed; matchless.

(3) Belonging or pertaining to one individual or group to the exclusion of all others; exclusive.

(4) In law, un-married (archaic).

(5) The bottom or under-surface of the foot.

(6) The corresponding under part of a shoe, boot, or the like, or this part exclusive of the heel.

(7) The bottom, under surface, or lower part of anything.

(8) In carpentry, the underside of a plane.

(9) In golf, the part of the head of the club that touches the ground.

(10) A European flatfish, Solea solea.

(11) Any other flatfish of the families Soleidae and Cynoglossidae, having a hook-like snout.

1275-1325:  From the Old French soul & sol (only, alone, just), from the Vlugar Latin sola from the Late Latin sōlus (alone, only, single, sole; forsaken; extraordinary), replacing Middle English soule.  The source was the Classical Latin solea (sandal, bottom of a shoe; a flatfish), derivative of solum (base, bottom, ground, foundation, lowest point of a thing (hence “sole of the foot”)).  The Latin root begat similar words in many European languages: the Spanish suela, the Italian soglia and the Portuguese solha although, technically, the bottom of the foot is the planta, corresponding to the palm of the hand.  The Latin sōlus is of unknown origin but may be related to the primitive Indo-European reflexive root swo- from which English later gained "so".

A fossil flatfish.

The various common European flatfishes (of the ray-finned demersal order Pleuronectiformes) became known as sole in the mid-thirteenth century, an adoption of French use which followed the Latin which named the solea after the sandal because of the resemblance in shape to a flat shoe.  In English, the meaning "bottom of a shoe or boot" is from the late fourteenth century, and the cobbler’s phrase “to heal and sole a boot (or shoe)” to describe a repair or replacement is a verb form from the 1560s.  Another linguistic innovation of boot-makers was the noun insole (an inner lining of a shoe or boot affixed inside to the bottom and following exactly the shape) which appeared in 1838; it soon became known as the inner sole or inner-sole.

The use in both Church and common law to mean "single, alone, having no husband or wife” was an appropriation of form reflecting the normal, everyday meaning of the sole (one and only, singular, unique) and was first used in that context in the late fourteenth century and, in some technical uses, appeared still as late as the early nineteenth.  The adjective solely began to appear in the late fifteenth century.  A particular adjectival adoption was the direct borrowing from Latin of solus, used in the theatre for stage directions by 1590s.  It’s a masculine (the feminine is sola) but, as part of an industry-specific jargon, solus was used for both.  In certain circles, including poets and lawyers, use of the word persisted in old Latin phrases such as solus cum sola (alone with an unchaperoned woman) and solus cum solo (all on one's own” (which translates literally as "alone with alone")).

Studies of the soles of the Lindsay Lohan’s feet in three aspects.

Sole and its antecedents proved a a productive source in English, the soleus (muscle of the calf of the leg) a creation in the 1670s in the Modern Latin used in medicine and, like the fish, inspired by the similarity to the Roman shoe.  The adjective solitary (alone, living alone) was a mid-fourteenth century formation from the Old French solitaire, from the Latin solitarius (alone, lonely, isolated) from solitas (loneliness, solitude) from solus (alone).  The meaning "single, sole, only" is from 1742 and the related forms are a solitarily & solitariness.   It was a noun as early as the late 1300s but the most inventive adaptation was probably the 1690s prison slang in which it described the punishment of solitary confinement; in 1854 the phrase became an official part of the administration of jails.

Martin Luther aged 43 (1529) by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1653).

As a Reformation coinage, solus also provided theology with the 1590s solifidian (one who believes in salvation by faith alone), a tenet of Protestant Christianity based on the translation by the dissident, one-time Augustinian monk Martin Luther (1483-1546) of Romans 3:28, the construct being solus (alone) + fides (faith) from the primitive Indo-European root bheidh- (to trust, confide, persuade).  It must have been a success because solifidian was used as an adjective early in the new century; the related form is solifidianism.  Philosophy gained solipsism, the theory that self is the only object of real knowledge or the only thing that is real and that all else must be denied.

The solo as a “piece of music for one voice or instrument” dates from the 1690s and was in English a commonly used adjective as early as 1712, although the early uses had nothing to do with music, instead referring to activities undertaken alone or unassisted.  The verb is first attested 1858 in the musical sense, 1886 in a non-musical sense and was adopted in the business of pilot training to describe a pupil’s first flight without an instructor in the cockpit.  Among those who attend rock concerts, there seems to be one faction which regards the drum solo as a highlight and one for which it's a bore to be endured.

A desolate emo.

Desolate, the emo’s standard alliterative companion to devastated, in the mid-1300s meant “a person disconsolate, miserable, overwhelmed with grief, deprived of comfort", extended later in the century to “persons without companions, solitary, lonely".  If the word didn’t exist, emos would have invented it.  By the early fifteenth century, it became applied to the natural environment to describe places, "uninhabited, abandoned" from the Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare (leave alone, desert), the construct being de- (completely) + solare (make lonely).  It’s not clear when it came also to be used as a criticism of urban, built environments (typically industrial or suburban) but it was well-established early in the twentieth century.  Desolation (sorrow, grief, personal affliction), circa 1400 meant the "action of laying waste, destruction or expulsion of inhabitants" is from the twelfth century Old French desolacion (desolation, devastation, hopelessness, despair) and directly from the Church Latin desolationem (nominative desolatio), a noun of action from the past-participle stem of desolare (leave alone, desert).  The sense of a "condition of being ruined or wasted, destruction" is from the early 1400 and the sense of "a desolated place, a devastated or lifeless region" is from 1610s.  Also emo-themed was the adjective sullen, a 1570s alteration of the Middle English soleyn (unique, singular) from the Anglo-French solein, formed on the pattern of the Old French solain (lonely), from the Latin solus.  The emo-inspired sense shift in Middle English from "solitary" to "morose" occurred in the late fourteenth century.  Solitude is from the mid-fourteenth century, from the Old French solitude (loneliness) and directly from the Latin solitudinem (nominative solitudo) (loneliness, being alone; lonely place, desert, wilderness) from solus but didn’t become common use in English until the seventeenth century.  The solitudinarian (a recluse, unsocial person) is recorded from 1690s and it’s perhaps surprising such a modern-sounding word isn’t today more popular.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (circa 1510) by Berto di Giovanni (d 1529).

The noun soliloquy is from the 1610s, from the Late Latin soliloquium (a talking to oneself", the construct being solus + loqui (to speak) from the primitive Indo-European root tolkw- (to speak).  Earlier, it appeared in a translation of the Latin Soliloquiorum libri duo a treatise by Saint Augustine (354-430), who is said to have coined the word, on analogy of Greek monologia.  The related form is soliloquent.

Heel & Heal

Heal (pronounced heel)

(1) To make healthy, whole, or sound; restore to health; free from ailment.

(2) To bring to an end or conclusion, as conflicts between people or groups, usually with the strong implication of restoring former amity; settle; reconcile.

(3) To free from evil; cleanse; purify:

Pre 900: From the Middle English helen, from the Old English hǣlan (cure; save; make whole, sound and well), from the Proto-Germanic hailijaną (to heal, make whole, save) from which Old Saxon picked up helian and Gothic gained ga-hailjan (to heal, cure), the literal translation of which was "to make whole", all of these from the primitive Indo-European koyl (safe; unharmed).  It was cognate with the Dutch helen, the Saterland Frisian heila, heilen & hela, the Danish hele, the Swedish hela, the Old High German heilen, the Old Norse heila, the Scots hale & hail and the Gothic hailjan, all derivative of hāl & hale (whole).  The Modern English health, healthy, healthily etc were later derivations.  Heal is a noun & verb, healing is a noun & verb and healed is a verb; the noun plural is heals.

Heel (pronounced heel)

(1) The back part of the human foot, below and behind the ankle.

(2) An analogous part in other vertebrates.

(3) In zoology, either hind foot or hoof of some animals, as the horse.

(4) The part of a stocking, shoe, or the like covering the back part of the wearer's foot.

(5) A solid, raised base or support of leather, wood, rubber, etc, attached to the sole of a shoe or boot under the back part of the foot.

(6) By analogy, things resembling the back part of the human foot in position, shape etc, such as the heel of a loaf of bread.

(7) The rear of the palm of the hand, adjacent to the wrist.

(8) The latter or concluding part of anything (now rare).

(9) In architecture, the lower end of any of various more or less vertical objects, as rafters, spars, sternposts of vessels or the exterior angle of an angle iron.

(10) In naval architecture, the after end of a keel or the inner end of a bowsprit or jib boom.

(11) The crook in the head of a golf club.

(12) In railroad construction, the end of a frog farthest from a switch.

(13) In horticulture, the base of any part, as of a cutting or tuber, that is removed from a plant for use in the propagation of that plant.

(14) A vile, contemptibly dishonorable or irresponsible person, one thought untrustworthy, unscrupulous, or generally despicable.

(15) In cock-fighting, to arm (a gamecock) with spurs.

(16) In admiralty jargon, the inclined position from the vertical when a vessel is at ten (or more) degrees of list.

Pre 850: From the Middle English helden, a variant of the earlier heeld and derived from the Old English hēla, heald & hieldan (to lean or slope).  It was cognate with the Dutch hiel, the Old Frisian hêl, the Old Norse hallr and the Old High German helden (to bow).  In the sense of “back of the foot”, root is the Old English hela, from the Proto-Germanic hanhilon which was cognate with the Old Norse hæll, the Old Frisian hel and the Dutch hiel), all derived from the primitive Indo-European kenk (heel, bend of the knee).  The meaning "back of a shoe or boot" is circa 1400 and features in a number or English phrases: Down at heel (1732) refers to heels of boots or shoes worn down when the owner was too poor to have them repaired; the Achilles' heel refers to only vulnerable spot in the figure from Greek mythology; in Middle English, fighten with heles (to fight with (one's) heels) meant "to run away."  The idiomatic phrase "he's a heel" began in professional wrestling, where it was used to describe a villainous character who breaks the rules, cheats, and generally behaves in an unethical manner to gain an advantage (sometimes as part of the script).  In modern use, "he's a heel" has be repurposed to disparage unsatisfactory dates, boyfriends & husbands.  The nautical, Admiralty and architectural forms are all derived (however remotely) from the earlier meanings related to slopes and angles.  Heeled & heeling are nouns & verbs, heelful is a noun and heeling is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is heels.

Heels in the military

United States Army Class A (Dress A) Uniform guide (women).

Heels in the shoes of women’s military uniforms are not unusual and the US Army guide is typical, specifying between ½ - 3 inch height on a closed-toe pump, essentially anything between a flat and a kitten heel.  With the formal dress uniforms worn for dinners and such, higher heels have long been worn.  In Western militaries, heels have never been worn with combat uniforms or when drill-marching although they’re not an unusual sight on parade grounds, worn with dress uniforms.  They have however in recent years been seen on female soldiers in both the DPRK (North Korean) and Russian armies although there seems to be no evidence of the practice during the Warsaw Pact era.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea): female soldiers.

Like his father (Kim Jong-il (1941–2011; The DPRK's Dear Leader, 1994-2011) and grandfather, (Kim Il-sung (1912-1994; The DPRK's Great Leader, 1948-1994), Kim Jong-un (b 1983; The DPRK's Supreme Leader (originally The Great Successor) since 2011) likes women in heels (note the big hats, a long tradition in the DPRK armed forces although the structural similarity to the Jewish Shtreimel is mere coincidence).  Because the whole DPRK military seems to be run by someone in the vein of General Scheisskopf (in German, literally "shit-head", the character in Joseph Heller's (1923-1999) Catch-22 (1961) who was obsessed with marching), the heels really are functional and better than combat boots.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea): female soldiers marching.

The use of any sort of heel (or conventional shoe) may seem a strange choice for military use but there's never been much to suggest it's footwear designed for the battlefield.  Actually, there are a number of analysts who maintain the whole DPRK military is not intended for actual deployment under battlefield conditions, especially in any conflict likely to extend beyond the few weeks their logistical support is thought capable of remaining effective.  However, as a well-drilled mass-formation able to march in public ceremonies, the DPRK's soldiers excel and the state's choreographed events have no match in the world, something emphasised by the cinematography, packaged quickly into slick productions for distribution to international news services.  For these purposes, women in heels works well because boots are heavy and some of the steps (including a few with some "wardrobe malfunction" potential) the women are required to perform for long duration marches would be impossible for some if they had to wear combat boots.

Russian female soldiers.

Women in the Russian military appear to use a variety of heel heights with dress uniforms including even stilettos which is interesting.  Presumably  the stilettos are used only when marching on smooth, regular surfaces; it would be very difficult to march on the cobble stones in Moscow's Red Square while in stilettos and traction & stability fragile at the margins.  That's of great significance when marching in formation because it works on the basis of "as strong as the weakest link in the chain" in that if one soldier in the line stumbles, it can trigger a chain reaction, disrupting the entire show.   

The Ukrainian minister for defense trying not to notice some stilettos.

The decision of the Ukraine's Ministry of Defense to train female soldiers to march in high heels attracted interest, much of it from Ukrainian politicians, little of it supportive, except for that expressed by female legislators.  Despite that, when in late June 2021 photographs emerged of women soldiers training in heels for a march scheduled for 24 August to mark the thirtieth anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, an army spokesman reported the drilling to master the steps was "progressing well" although one soldier in an interview confirmed it was "...a little harder than in boots".  Social media soon went into action, one on-line petition demanding Ukraine's (male) defense minister don the not infrequently uncomfortable shoes to try marching in them and most critics (most volubly the female parliamentarians), accused the military of sexism and having a “medieval” mind-set.  The virtual protest was the next day brought into parliament when some of  his female colleagues arranged a line of high-heeled shoes before the defense minister and suggested he wear them to the anniversary parade, a joint statement from three cabinet ministers adding that the "...purpose of any military parade is to demonstrate the military ability of the army. There should be no room for stereotypes and sexism”.

Ukrianian female cadets practicing in heeled pumps.

The Defense Ministry initially declined to comment but did later issue as statement pointing out heels had been part of dress uniform regulations since 2017 and included pictures of female soldiers in the US military wearing heels during formal events and although they didn't mention it, Ukrainian soldiers regardless of gender all wear boots when deployed for combat or active training.  The great heel furor however didn't subside and the defense minister, after consultation with female military cadets, issued a joint statement with the military high command acknowledging the heels were inconvenient.  Later addressing a gathering of cadets, the minister pledged to look into the matter of “improved, ergonomic” footwear “in the shortest possible time”, although it wasn't made clear if the new shoes would be available for the August parade.  In another supportive gesture he also confirmed senior defense officials "would look into" improving the quality of women's underwear, this presumably in response to concerns raised by the cadets although the minister didn't go into detail of this, saying only that if the trial of the cadet's “experimental” footwear went well, they could be issued to all female members in the military.

Harder than it looks.

In recent years, women have played increasingly prominent roles in the Ukrainian military, especially in the ongoing conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv allowing women to serve in combat units after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.  Women now make up more than 15 percent of the country’s armed forces, a rate which has more than doubled since the conflict erupted and more than 13,000 women have been granted combatant status.  Some 57,000 women serve in the Ukrainian military and NATO standards are in the process of being introduced, membership of the alliance being described still as a "long term" goal.  Given Ukraine's long and often not untroubled relationship with both Russia and the Soviet Union, the lure of NATO is understandable but the Kremlin is opposed and there's now little enthusiasm in Western capitals.  The view from NATO HQ has for some time been that the relationship with Moscow will be easier to manage if a border which the Kremlin regards as hostile is not extended.

Pre-dating even the apparently abortive sartorial innovations of the Ukrainian Army, military camouflage has long attracted designers who like the juxtaposition of fashion and function (the fetching stiletto (bottom right) with the rakishly slanted heel is a Prada Camo Green Pump).  Although the purpose may not be overt, physics make the stiletto heel something of a weapon, even a 45 kg (100 lb) woman, at the point of the heel's impact, exerting a pressure 20 times that of the foot of a 2½ tonne (6000 lb) elephant.  Over the years, dance floors, the timber decks of cruise ships and many other surfaces have suffered damage.

Lindsay Lohan in Christian Louboutin Madame Butterfly black bow platform bootie with six-inch (150 mm) stiletto heel.

Vice Versa's convertible heel to flat.

Undeniably stiletto heels are attractive and, if worn by a skilled user, can lend a woman her most alluring posture but they can be uncomfortable, especially of worn for an extended duration, over long distances or on hard surfaces.  One solution (although it seems to unlikely to be adaptable to the most elevated of the breed) is a shoe with a "clamshell" design, a half-sole hinged from the instep, allowing the heel to use a folding mechanism so it can be transformed into a something like a ballet flat (ballet pump in some markets).  Greatly they will be valued by those who, after a long evening, have to walk a few blocks to find a taxi.