buskin n Cp OED ~ 1 'covering for the foot and leg' (1503-1860); EDD buskins 'leather gaiters' Ir Do So D. A cloth or woollen gaiter or legging worn to keep snow out of boot.
   [1774] 1792 CARTWRIGHT ii, 28 We engaged the master and three of his men to serve us the winter, for their provisions, buskins. and cuffs. 1866 WILSON 214 The buskin is for the leg, to keep out the snow. It is ... made of swanskin. 1914 Cadet Apr, p. 7 Hamburg boots and bluchers were all the go and the swanskin or buskin when worn over the latter made a tidy, warm and comfortable footwear, except in wet weather. Q 67-5 Buskins were a homemade addition to winterized boots made of canvas 'duck' wrapped around the leg above a boot. Waterproofed by dipping in turpentine. 1971 NOSEWORTHY 180 Buzkins. A type of leggings used in the 'olden days' made of thick cloth, pulled on over boots, and buttoned around the legs under the pants. 1979 POCIUS 26, 28 Several women on the Southern Shore claimed that they knitted a type of oversock that was worn over the boot and extended up almost to the knee on the outside of the pants. These were also worn by men when they went into the forest to gather fire wood. They were commonly called 'buskins.'

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