'Hessian' definitions:
Definition of 'hessian'
(from WordNet)
noun
(19th century) a man's high tasseled boot [syn: Hessian boot, hessian, jackboot, Wellington, Wellington boot]
Definition of 'Hessian'
From: GCIDE
- Hessian \Hes"sian\, n.
- 1. A native or inhabitant of Hesse. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A mercenary or venal person. [U. S.] [1913 Webster]
- Note: This use is a relic of the patriot hatred of the Hessian mercenaries who served with the British troops in the Revolutionary War. [1913 Webster]
- 3. pl. See Hessian boots and cloth, under Hessian, a. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Hessian'
From: GCIDE
- Hessian \Hes"sian\, a. Of or relating to Hesse, in Germany, or to the Hessians. [1913 Webster]
- Hessian boots, or Hessians, boot of a kind worn in England, in the early part of the nineteenth century, tasseled in front. --Thackeray.
- Hessian cloth, or Hessians, a coarse hempen cloth for sacking.
- Hessian crucible. See under Crucible.
- Hessian fly (Zool.), a small dipterous fly or midge (Cecidomyia destructor). Its larv[ae] live between the base of the lower leaves and the stalk of wheat, and are very destructive to young wheat; -- so called from the erroneous idea that it was brought into America by the Hessian troops, during the Revolution. [1913 Webster]