footpaddingadj.n.
/ˈfʊtˌpadɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈfʊtˌpædɪŋ/ Of a person; that engages in footpadding; that is a footpad. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [adjective] > specific type or manner of robbery
church-robbing1549
footpadding1628
padding1628
mail-settingc1688
hold-up1881
hijacking1923
smash-and-grab1927
skyjacked1961
1628 J. Clavell Recantation of Ill Led Life 46 I doe suppose A watch of Holbarteers were good for those Foot-padding-night theeues.
1790 R. Burns Let. 13 Feb. (2003) II. 15 A glass of whisky-toddy with the ruby-nosed Yoke-fellow of a foot-padding Exciseman.
B. n.
The action or an act of committing a highway robbery on foot. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [noun] > highway robbery > by footpad
low-padding1671
footpadding1695
low toby1807
spice1819
footpaddery1859
1695 Solon Secundus 15 A Disbanding of our present numerous Army..which will put the Private Soldiers to engage in Foot-Padding.
1735 in W. C. Sydney Eng. 18th Cent. (1891) II. 282 Five condemned malefactors were executed at Tyburn, viz. Kiffe and Wilson for footpadding [etc.].
1775 Craftsman 14 Jan. Having met with no success in foot-padding, Pritchard proposed to his companions to break open the gentleman's house with whom he had lately lived.
1860 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem (1861) III. ciii. 7 From foot-padding upwards, it is always desirable to get at the principle.
1923 Kokomo (Indiana) Daily Tribune 27 Jan. 4/3 The footpads still keep on their footpadding.
1994 Bull. Lat. Amer. Res. 13 254 Low levels of commercial activity in those localities best suited to footpadding.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.1628