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| n. A slipper. [Middle English pantufle, from Middle French pantoufle, possibly of southern French dialectal or Occitan origin : pant-, variant of patt-, onomatopoeic root imitative of thudding or pitter-patter (compare French patte, paw, from the same root) + -oufle, suffix for nouns denoting puffy objects or deadened sounds. Alternatively Middle French pantoufle, perhaps ultimately (via Old Italian pantofola) from Medieval Greek *pantophellos, made entirely of cork (since cork is used to make the soles of slippers) : Greek panto-, all (from pās, pant-; see PAN-) + greek phellos, cork; see PHELLEM.] |
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