A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather th
at has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel of leather). The sole is soft and flexible and the upper part often is adorned with embroidery or beading. Though sometimes worn inside, it is chiefly intended for outdoor use, as in exploring wildernesses and running. Historically, it is the footwear of many indigenous people of North America; moreover, hunters, traders, and European settlers wore them. Etymologically, the moccasin derives from the Algonquian languagePowhatan word makasin (cognate to Massachusett mohkisson / mokussin, Ojibwamakizin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn),[1][2] and from the Proto-Algonquian word *maxkeseni (shoe).[3]