Why Is the String For Tying Shoes Called "Lace" and Where Did the Word Shoelace Come From?

The word lace began its route into thirteenth-century English as the Latin word lacere, which means “to entice.”

On its way through Spanish and French, lace became a hunting term meaning “rope net,” “snare,” or “noose.”

In 1555, because fancy lace reminded someone of a hunting net, the word lace was employed to describe an ornamental netted fabric pattern and, shortly after, as a cord for tying, such as a shoelace.

why is the string for tying shoes called lace and where did the word shoelace come from

As its use in hunting diminished, lace or “netting” took on the primary meaning of “ornamental trim.”

The expression “to lace a drink” by adding a dash of liquor derived from the new habit of adding sugar to coffee or tea during the seventeenth century, and also meant “ornamental trim.”

The Spanish word for a “hunting lace” or a rope was Lazo, which gave cowboys the lasso.

“Laced mutton” was an old expression for a prostitute.

Why Is the String For Tying Shoes Called “Lace” and Where Did the Word Shoelace Come From?

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