High-heeled

Podcast 1 · Introduction

High-heeled

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

hy-HEELD  /ˌhaɪˈhiːld/

Definition

(Of a shoe or boot) having a high heel; wearing shoes with high heels. High heels are shoes with an elevated heel that significantly raises the wearer's heel above the toe.

Plain meaning

High-heeled describes shoes or boots that have a raised heel, lifting the wearer's heel significantly above the toe. High heels are primarily associated with women's fashion and have a long, complex cultural and social history stretching back to sixteenth-century Europe.

Register

Neutral and descriptive. High-heeled is standard descriptive vocabulary for footwear. The cultural and social context of high heels — feminist debates about footwear, comfort versus fashion, workplace dress codes — gives the simple adjective considerable cultural weight.