galosh

/ɡəˈlɒʃ/

//ɡəˈlɒʃ// noun

"galosh" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“galosh” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:

Corpus desk

Index EN-galosh · galosh · English

galosh · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for galosh
PropertyValue
Headwordgalosh
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡəˈlɒʃ/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “galosh” in English

galoshranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

galosh is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɡəˈlɒʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for galosh in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“shoe with a wooden sole”), but further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient Greek κᾱλοπ… The correct English form is galosh, spelled G-A-L-O-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:
  2. 2
    An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:
  3. 3
    A gaiter, or legging, covering the upper part of the shoe and part of the leg.

Etymology

From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“shoe with a wooden sole”), but further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient Greek κᾱλοπόδιον (kālopódion), diminutive of κᾱλόπους (kālópous, “shoemaker's block”), compound of κᾶλον (kâlon, “wood”) and πούς (poús, “foot”). (More at holt and foot.) * From Late Latin gallicula, diminutive of Latin gallica (solea) (“Gallic (sandal)”). * From Old French galette (“flat round cake”), from galet (“pebble”).

Synonyms

Wellington bootgumboot

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "galosh"?
"galosh" is spelled G-A-L-O-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡəˈlɒʃ/.
What does "galosh" mean?
As a noun, "galosh" means: An overshoe or boot worn in wet weather:
How do you pronounce "galosh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "galosh" is /ɡəˈlɒʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "galosh"?
From Middle English galoche, from Old French galoche (“shoe with a wooden sole”), but further history is uncertain. further theories * From Vulgar Latin *galopium or Late Latin calopedia (“a wooden shoe; a shoe with a wooden sole”), from Ancient G... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list