Souter

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsu.tɚ/

Definitions

1. A skilled individual who specializes in the construction and repair of footwear, particularly shoes, often working with various materials and techniques
2. A craftsman who makes or fixes shoes and other leather footwear
3. One who repairs worn or damaged shoes as a trade

Etymology: Latin "sūtor" meant "shoemaker" or "cobbler," and it came from "suere," "to sew." That is the whole secret of the word: a shoemaker was, at root, a stitcher. English kept the idea through Old English "sūtere," which passed into Middle English as "soutere," and the form survives today as "souter," a word now found mostly in Scottish and northern English usage. The word stayed in regular use long enough to pick up a reputation. In Scotland, a "souter" was a figure of local talk and rhyme, and the old word still turns up in place names and surnames, which is a sign of how commonly people once bore the trade as a name. Its relative "cobbler," by contrast, has a murkier origin and does not share this sewing root.