Boot

an article of dre , generally of leather, covering the foot and extending to a greater or le distance 1p the leg. Hence the name was given fo an instrument of torture made of iron, or a combination of iron and wood, fastened on to the leg, between which and the boot wedges were introduced and driven in by repeated blows of a mallet, with such violence as to crush both muscles and bones. The special object of this form of torture was to extort a confe ion of guilt from an accused person.