men's high boots with tassels around the top, fashionable in England in the early 19th century
Hessian boots in American English
knee-high, tasseled boots, introduced into England by Hessian troops in the 19th cent.
Hessian boots in American English
plural noun
knee-high tasseled boots, fashionable in England in the early 19th century
Word origin
[1800–10]This word is first recorded in the period 1800–10. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Caucasian, chlorine, hike, peripheral, sodium