How she managed to get through that evening, Polly never knew, yet it was not a long one, for at eight o'clock she slipped out of the room, meaning to run home alone, and not compel any one to serve as escort. But she did not succeed, for as she stood warming her rubbers at the dining-room fire, wondering pensively as she did so if Maria Bailey had small feet, and if Tom ever put her rubbers on for her, the little overshoes were taken out of her hands…

From: An Old-Fashioned Girl. by Louisa May Alcott. Originally published: Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1870. This edition: Boston: Little, Brown, 1950 (copyright 1870; 1897, 1898, 1910, 1911.)


You’re right too, Jo. The Word Defective confirms thusly:

In any case, "galosh" is indeed the proper term for just one of what are also called "overshoes" or "rain boots" in the U.S., "rubbers" being the more prevalent term in Britain. The last pair of galoshes that I owned (circa 1962) were ankle-length rubber boots that were supposed to, but usually didn't, fit over your shoes, and were fastened with a series of nasty little clamps designed to painfully pinch your fingers if you actually managed to wedge your feet into them. I think galoshes now come with zippers, but I'm still not interested.

Although galoshes as we know (or knew) them appeared in the 19th century, the term itself is considerably older. When "galosh" first entered English in the 14th century, it usually referred to a wooden sandal or clog (although "galosh" was also applied to almost any kind of shoe). "Galosh" comes from the French word "galoche," which is probably related to the medieval Latin "galopedium," meaning "wooden shoe." One authority believes that the ultimate source was the Latin "gallica," a short form of "Gallica solea," or "Gallic sandal."

http://www.word-detective.com/110999.html


Me? I have only ever heard a far more contemporary context for the expression rubbers, and I don’t think even Trojans would have gone to war in the wet with these over their size ten feet!