sock

n. [ OE. sock, AS. socc, fr. L. soccus a kind of low-heeled, light shoe. Cf. Sucket. ] 1. The shoe worn by actors of comedy in ancient Greece and Rome, -- used as a symbol of comedy, or of the comic drama, as distinguished from tragedy, which is symbolized by the buskin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great Fletcher never treads in buskin here,
Nor greater Jonson dares in socks appear. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A knit or woven covering for the foot and lower leg; a stocking with a short leg. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A warm inner sole for a shoe. Simmonds. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Perh. shortened fr. sockdolager. ] To hurl, drive, or strike violently; -- often with it as an object. [ Prov. or Vulgar ] Kipling. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. to save (money); to put (something) into a reserve store. [ Colloq. ] [ PJC ]

n. [ A corruption of doxology. ] [ Written also sockdologer. ] 1. That which finishes or ends a matter; a settler; a poser, as a heavy blow, a conclusive answer, and the like. [ Slang, U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Angling) A combination of two hooks which close upon each other, by means of a spring, as soon as the fish bites. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Something unusually large. [ Slang, U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ OE. soket, a dim. through OF. fr. L. soccus. See Sock a covering for the foot. ] 1. An opening into which anything is fitted; any hollow thing or place which receives and holds something else; as, the sockets of the teeth. [ 1913 Webster ]

His eyeballs in their hollow sockets sink. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Especially, the hollow tube or place in which a candle is fixed in the candlestick. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Electricity) the receptacle of an electric lamp into which a light bulb is inserted, containing contacts to conduct electricity to the bulb. [ PJC ]

4. (Electricity) the receptacle fixed in a wall and connected by conductive wiring to an electrical supply, containing contacts to conduct electricity, and into which the plug of an electrical device is inserted; -- called also a wall socket or outlet. The socket will typically have two or three contacts; if three, the third is connected to a ground for safety. [ PJC ]

And in the sockets oily bubbles dance. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Socket bolt (Mach.), a bolt that passes through a thimble that is placed between the parts connected by the bolt. --
Socket chisel. Same as Framing chisel. See under Framing. --
Socket pipe, a pipe with an expansion at one end to receive the end of a connecting pipe. --
Socket pole, a pole armed with iron fixed on by means of a socket, and used to propel boats, etc. [ U.S. ] --
Socket wrench, a wrench consisting of a socket at the end of a shank or rod, for turning a nut, bolthead, etc., in a narrow or deep recess. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a socket. Dawkins. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. to cause (an airport) to cease functioning, by severe weather conditions, such as fog or a snowstorm. Used often in the passive; the airport was socked in for two days by a blizzard. [ PJC ]

a. Destitute of socks or shoes. B. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]