stocking
/ˈstɒkɪŋ
/noun
1A women’s garment, typically made of translucent nylon or silk, that fits closely over the foot and is held up by suspenders or an elasticated strip at the upper thigh.The delicate cycle, which uses a slower and gentler spin intensity, is for laundering lingerie, stockings and other garments that are normally handwashed....
- She was dressed in a suspender belt, stockings and wearing rubber gloves which he liked.
- She was by no means a classic beauty but was eager to enhance her allure with her power suits and slightly risqué conversation, which included the revelation that she wore stockings and suspender belt.
Synonyms
nylons, stay-ups;
tights;
hosiery, hose;
North American pantyhose
1.1 short for Christmas stocking.This is the season of toasted marshmallows and stockings above the fireplace.
1.2US or archaic A long sock worn by men.Not for nothing is Alastair clad in the finest cloth, his plaid trimmed in gold, his stockings tied with silk garters....
- Thus, a miller in apron and shirtsleeves would not be confused with a magistrate in frock coat, knee breeches, and silk stockings.
- Men wore stockings with britches before women ever wore stockings.
1.3 [usually with modifier] A cylindrical bandage or other medical covering for the leg resembling a stocking, especially an elasticated support used in the treatment of disorders of the veins: a compression stocking...
- After either treatment, you will have to wear support stockings or elastic bandages for several weeks.
- No other anticoagulant or antiplatelet agents were allowed, but all patients were to make use of graduated compression stockings and physical therapy.
- Most people are asked to wear support stockings to help maintain the blood flow in the veins of the legs during and after the procedure.
1.4A white marking of the lower part of a horse’s leg, extending as far as, or just beyond, the knee or hock: a bright bay with white stockings...
- When they arrived at Bay Star's stall, they saw her licking a chestnut foal with four white stockings and a white stripe down its chest.
- While Belochamp was almost a uniform gray except for his white mane and tail, Theram had a white star and stockings on both his hind legs.
- Therefore I prefer horses without white stockings.
Phrases
in (one's) stockinged feet
Derivatives
stockinged
[in combination]: her black-stockinged legs...
- It might almost be the glimpse of a stockinged leg with the impersonal passivity of ‘incautiously exposed’, suggesting a body ‘asking for it.’
- When he examined imprints on putty that had been placed under the séance table and found imprints of a woman's shoe, a stockinged heel, or a big toe, it did not occur to him that the imprints might have been made by a woman's foot.
- The smooth, hundred-year-old larch under my stockinged feet where I now sit in my study represents only a tiny fraction of a very complex solution for what ails our forests.
stockingless
- The soles of the stockingless feet were encased in a most comfortable kind of sandal that anyone would wish to wear.
- My companion told me rather matter-of-factly that in central New Orleans, being stockingless was the mark of a Bourbon Street prostitute.
- The trooper ordered them to return to the camp and dress properly, adding emphatically that the stockingless craze must end, even if arrests had to be made to accomplish this end.
Origin
Late 16th century: from stock in the dialect sense 'stocking' + -ing1.