1. a wooden shoe or clog, especially one worn to raise the foot above wet or muddy ground
Usage: historical
2. a metal plate or ring placed under a column or post to distribute weight
Usage: architecture; construction

Examples

• The medieval peasant wore wooden pattens to keep her feet dry in the muddy streets.
• Museum visitors can see examples of 18th-century pattens used by working women.
• The architect specified steel pattens under each support column.
• Workers installed concrete pattens to distribute the load evenly.
• Historical reenactors often wear pattens as part of their authentic costumes.
• The structural engineer recommended larger pattens for the heavy timber posts.