Patten

Martha or Patty, says Gay, was the daughter of a Lincolnshire farmer, with whom the village blacksmith fell in love. To save her from wet feet when she went to milk the cows, the village Mulciber invented a clog, mounted on iron, which he called patty, after his mistress. This pretty fable is of no literary value, as the word is the French patin (a high-heeled shoe or skate), from the Greek patein (to walk).

“The patten now supports each frugal dame, Which from the blue-eyed Patty takes its name.” Gay: Trivia, i.

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