I have long noticed, and my interest was piqued again by what someone said in a recent post, that Americans and Brit-English speakers use different words to refer to footwear in general. Shakespeare referred to "hosen and shoon" and when Americans allude to what they wear on their feet, without intending anything special, they use the word "shoes", whereas Brits tend to say "boots". It even extends to related words; we use the term "shoe shine" rather than "bootblack" or "boot blacking".

Any ideas on how this comes about?