footbinding

English

Alternative forms

  • foot binding, foot-binding

Etymology

From foot +‎ binding.

Noun

footbinding (countable and uncountable, plural footbindings)

  1. (historical) The old Chinese custom of binding women's feet with cloth to prevent them from growing with age. [from 19th c.]
    • 2020 February 14, Antonia Malchik, “The Neglected Consequences of Foot-Binding”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic‎[1], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 May 2026:
      More recent studies have shown that foot-binding was likely practiced not purely for the sake of marriage, but also to keep girls at home and engaged in handicrafts, such as spinning cotton, in order to contribute to their family’s income.
  2. The material used to bind feet for this reason.

Translations

See also

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