Meaning

noun a cloth covering (a legging) that covers the instep and ankles

noun a shoe covering the ankle with elastic gores in the sides

noun legging consisting of a cloth or leather covering for the leg from the knee to the ankle

originBorrowed from French guêtre, from Middle French guiestres, guestes pl, from Old French *gueste, from Frankish *wastiju, from Proto-Germanic *wastijō (“garment; dress”). Cognate with Middle High German wester (“a child's chrisom-cloth”), Middle High German westebarn (“godchild”), Old English wæstling (“a coverlet”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌹 (wasti, “garment; dress”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0