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Glite Dictionary
shoeblack

shoeblack

9.9
A person who cleans and shines shoes on street corners
  • noun
  • /ˈʃuːˌblæk/
  • Archaic
: limpiabotas
  • The shoeblack polished the businessman’s shoes until they shone brightly.

Examples

  • The shoeblack offered his services to anyone in the busy train station.

  • While waiting for the bus, I watched a shoeblack clean shoes for passersby.

  • "Torrents of babble about her cuteness, prettiness, even beauty did not keep that word from streaming out of her long Trowbridge jaw, large nostrils, hyperthyroid shoeblack eyes.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

bootblack
vsshoeblack
  • Archaic
2 8.5

A person who shines shoes and boots for money

works mainly in public places rather than private or household settings
bootboy
vsshoeblack
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A young person who cleans and cares for boots in a house or the army

works mainly in public places rather than in households or military
shoeboy
vsshoeblack
  • Archaic
9.9

A boy who shines or cleans shoes, often in the past

applies to any age rather than only young workers

Compounds

shoeblack plant
  • UK
9.9

A large shrub or small tree with deep red flowers often grown in gardens

Surface Forms

shoeblack singular
shoeblacks plural

Morphology

shoeblack = shoe + black (semi-transparent) = shoe + black

The components 'shoe' and 'black' are clear, but 'black' as a verb meaning 'to blacken/polish' may be unfamiliar to learners, so the agentive compound is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Shoeblack comes from shoe and black, because to 'black' once meant 'to make shoes dark and shiny'. So a shoeblack is literally someone who cleans and polishes other people's shoes.