Sabots,

Sabots, a species of wooden shoes made out of one block, and largely used by the French and Belgian peasantry, especially by those who inhabit moist and marshy districts. They are made of fir, birch, beech, alder, walnut, and other wood, and are manufactured principally in the Cevennes districts of France, the more ornamental varieties especially at Mende, Villefort, and Marvejols, all in the department of Lozère. For greater comfort and convenience, straw is stuffed between the foot and the wooden sides, or, with the most luxurious, a low woolen sock, made to fit the hollow of the shoe. The name is sometimes extended to a kind of Clogs (q.v.), with wooden soles and leather uppers.