▪ I. socket, n.
(ˈsɒkɪt)
Forms: 4–6 soket, 5–6 sokett(e, 6 sokkat, sowket; 6 sockat, -itte, 6–7 -ett(e, 7 soacket, socquet, 6– socket.
[a. AF. soket, dim. of soc ploughshare, sock n.2]
† 1. A lance- or spear-head having a form resembling that of a ploughshare. Obs.
| [a 1260 Matth. Paris Chron. Majora (Rolls) V. 319 Ferrum remansit in vulnere; quod tamen excisum..inventum est in mucrone acutissimum instar pugionis,..et brevem formam habens vomeris, unde vulgariter vomerulus vocatur, Gallice soket.] |
| 13.. K. Alis. 4415 (Laud MS.), He took in honde a rede pensel Wiþ a soket of broun stel. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 7189 (Kölbing), Gaheriet mett þe douke Fannel Wiþ a launce, þe soket of stiel. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 9645 His tronchon stikked fast With the soket in mid the shelde. 1502 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. II. 352 To Henry, lorymar, for sockatis and dyamandis to the speris, xiiij s. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 687 Than with the speir..He hit the king richt in at the e, The scharpe sokkat syne throw his heid is gone. |
2. a. A hollow part or piece, usually of a cylindrical form, constructed to receive some part or thing fitting into it.
| 1448 in Archæol. Jrnl. LI. 121 Item .j. soket argenteum deauratum pro cruce argentea. Ibid. 122, .j. parvum soket. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 167 b/1 Another pyece wherin the sokette or morteys was maad that the body of the crosse stood in. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §21 A wedynge-hoke with a socket set vpon a lyttel staffe of a yarde longe. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. iii. 73 b, A socket of siluer & guilt.., within the top of which socket they set..plumes of feathers. 1667 Phil. Trans. II. 567 Into the Socket of that Iron is put a Staffe. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 97 This Iron is fastned by a Socket to a Pole about 14 or 15 Foot long. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. v. 341 The heel of the yard is always lodged in one of the sockets. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 223 The harpoon..consists of three conjoined parts, called the ‘socket’, ‘shank’, and ‘mouth’. 1840 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 349/1 The paddle-beams..pass the sides of the vessel through what may be called sockets. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 354 The camera is fitted with..sockets for use on a tripod. |
| fig. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 13 A vaine of lauish iangling, that hath made thy palate rise out of socket. 1601 Dent Pathw. Heaven 52 The most part [of men] run beyond their bounds, and leape quite out of their sockets. |
b. techn. (See
quots.)
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 229 Socket, the innermost end of a shot hole not blown away after firing. 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 827/1 Socket, a tool used in well boring to recover and lift rods out of the well. |
c. An object in which the terminals of an electricity supply are inside holes made to receive the pins of a plug;
spec. one that is fixed to a wall.
| 1885 C. J. Wharton tr. Hospitalier's Domestic Electr. vii. 113 The whole [lamp-holder] is fitted to a wooden socket C, which may be screwed into an ordinary chandelier or in place of a gas burner. 1892 [see plug n. 1 c]. 1914 S. C. Batstone Electric-Light Fitting vi. 127 The wires come into the socket from behind the skirting. 1938 J. W. Sims Electr. Installations 155 Apparatus requiring not more than 50 watts may be supplied from..one 15-amp socket. 1955 N. W. Kay Mod. Building Encycl. 637/1 The fuse can be renewed only when the plug-head is withdrawn from the socket. 1977 F. Hall Building Services & Equipment II. v. 35/2 The sockets will only accept plugs for 110V, single-phase, 50Hz supply. |
d. Golf. That part of the head of a club into which the shaft is fitted; a shot made off the socket.
| 1887 W. G. Simpson Art of Golf i. iv. 22 Irons and cleeks..have sockets instead of necks. 1922 C. Leitch Golf 98 There is no bad shot in golf which flurries a player so much as a shot off the socket. 1927 Daily Express 12 Feb. 3/7 In the down stroke, the left hand and arm get ahead of the right, and that causes either a socket or a ‘push out’. 1963 J. Jacobs Golf 78 The socket is simply explained—the club head is being brought down further away from the body than it should be. |
3. a. The part of a candlestick or chandelier in which the candle is placed.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 463/1 Soket, of a candylstykke or oþer lyke, alorica. 1477–9 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 81 Payd to Thomas Goldsmyth for the mendyng of..the soket of a siluer candilstike. 1537 N. Co. Wills (Surtees) 146, iiij candelstickes with double sowkettes. 1552 Huloet s.v. Candle beame, Sockettes to set candels vpon. 1626 Bacon Sylva §31 Take a small Waxe Candle, and putt it in a Socket, of Brasse, or Iron. a 1701 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 27 A small lighted wax Taper, a hole in the Cake serving for a Socket. 1760–2 Goldsm. Cit. W. xlvi, The candles were burnt to the socket. 1832 Brewster Nat. Magic xiii. 325 The candle was burned out in the socket of the candlestick, which stood by her. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xv. III. 521 From dawn till the candles had burned down to their sockets. |
b. fig. or in
fig. context.
| 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet (1844) 36 With a wit worn into the socket, twinkling and pinking like the snuffe of a candle. 1633 F. Greville Cælica lxxxvii. 235 When as mans life..In soacket of his earthly lanthorne burnes. 1655 Nicholas P. (Camden) II. 323 My smale talent, being now burnt downe to the very socquet. 1756 Pol. Ballads (1860) II. 331 In thy arms let me die, And my glory burn clear in the socket. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate i, The light of life..was trembling in the socket. 1862 Goulburn Pers. Relig. iv. xii. (1873) 354 Love began to burn a little low in the socket. |
| Comb. 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 119 His socket-worne inuention. |
4. † a. In allusive use.
Obs.| c 1450 Mankind 140 in Macro Plays, Yf ȝe wyll putt yowur nose in hys wyffis sokett, Ȝe xall haue xl{supt}{supy} days of pardon. 1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. iii. (1818) 109. |
b. = Socket-money (see 7 c).
| 1818 R. Jamieson in Burt's Lett. I. 194 note, [If they happen to see any kind of freedom between them,..they..demand the bulling-siller.] This tax in England is called socket. 1889 Marcroft Ups & Downs 10 At the same stir it was arranged for the footings and sockets to come in. |
5. Anat. A hollow or cavity in which some part or articulation (as a tooth, eye, bone, etc.) is inserted.
| (a) 1601 Holland Pliny xxv. xiii. I. 239 Both of them..serve in a collution to strengthen and keepe them [teeth] fast in their sockets. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Teeth, In Men, the ordinary Number of Teeth is 32,..all fix'd in peculiar Sockets. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 212 Its root enters into the socket above a foot and an half. In a skull..at Hamburgh there are two teeth. 1859 J. Tomes Dental Surg. 4 The sockets for the first temporary molars. |
| (b) 1615 Crooke Body of Man 546 The Membrane of their eye is very hard, and beside they stand deepe in their sockets. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iv. vi. 341 To constitute the upper part of the Eye-hole or Socket. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia vii. iii, Fixed in mute wonder,..her eyes almost bursting from their sockets. 1843 Abdy Water Cure 26 The eyes deep in the socket and feeble. 1890 W. P. Ball Are Effects of Use & Disuse inherited? 72 In one species of ant..the sockets have disappeared as well as the eyes. |
| (c) 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 27 Below the eyes was two crook'd horns, which..was fasten'd in two sockets at the roots. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 20 The quill thus deprived continues in its socket for some months. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxxiii. 384 The socket..in which the leg is planted. 1837 Dickens Pickw. v, His arms being nearly pulled out of their sockets. 1882 Pitman Mission Life Greece & Pal. 212 The little knob on the end of the hip⁓bone, which works in a socket in the corresponding bone. |
6. Applied to parts of plants.
| 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. 68 Bees gather of all things that have flowers in a hose or socket. 1713 J. Warder True Amazon 16 Many [flowers]..being kept in their Socket a long time, that should have blown. a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 138 They, being grown thick and strong, open the socket of the said outward leaf. 1868 U.S. Rep. Comm. Agric. (1869) 262 The atocha grass..is not cut like ordinary grass, but is pulled up from its socket. |
7. attrib. and
Comb. a. Attrib. in sense 2, as
socket-bar,
socket-bit,
socket-castor,
socket-chisel, etc.;
socket outlet, a socket (sense 2 c) fixed to a wall and connected to an electricity supply;
cf. outlet n. 1 e,
point n.1 A. 19 e;
socket set, a number of sockets for use with a socket wrench;
socket wrench, a wrench equipped with a set of detachable sockets of different sizes.
Many examples of this type occur in modern technical use, and are recorded in special dictionaries.
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 229 *Socket Bar [a hollow conical-headed iron rod for extricating boring rods from bore holes]. |
| 1532 Lett. & P. Hen. VIII, V. 447 A ground auger made with a *socket bit steeled. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Socket-castor, a metal castor which moves in a socket. |
| 1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. vii. 123 *Socket Chissels..have their Shank made with an hollow Socket at its top. 1842 Gwilt Archit. Gloss., Socket Chisel, a strong tool used by carpenters for mortising, and worked with a mallet. |
| 1895 Model Steam Eng. 38 The *socket end of the rod must have a screw formed on it. |
| 1858 Greener Gunnery 401 The price paid for the *socket joint alone. |
| 1895 Arnold & Sons' Catal. Surg. Instrum. 789 *Socket Leg, for amputation above knee, with wooden socket. |
| 1934 Two-Pole & Earthing-Pin Plugs & Socket-Outlets (Brit. Standards Inst.) 6 When the plug and the *socket-outlet are in complete engagement no live parts shall be accessible. 1977 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXV. 119/2 There will probably be more storage space [in today's new house] and almost certainly more socket outlets. |
| 1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools Pl. O 3, The bearing plate of the jointed *socket-piece. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Socket-pipe, a pipe worked in a socket. |
| 1847 Webster, *Socket-pole, a pole armed with an iron socket, and used to propel boats, &c. |
| [1918 A. L. Dyke Automobile & Gasoline Engine Encycl. 613/2 (caption) No. 12 combination socket wrench set.] 1935 Gen. Catal. Tools & Supplies (Buck & Hickman Ltd.) 270/2 ‘Ratchet handle’ *socket sets. 1976 Star (Sheffield) 29 Nov. 5/5 Hinds pleaded guilty to stealing an electric drill and a 52-piece socket set. |
| 1893 Spons' Mechanics' Own Book (ed. 4) 80 The stems and handles of *socket spanners are made..separate from the socket portions. |
| 1887 J. R. Allen Early Chr. Symbolism 134 The head and part of the shaft..have been re-erected in the old *socket-stone. |
| 1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools Pl. N 1, The longitudinal liberty of the spindle..in its *socket tube. |
| 1905 W. Rogers Pumps & Hydraulics II. 344 An interchangeable *socket wrench is shown in Fig. 629. 1921 Car 31 Mar. 313/2 (Advt.), Your car will be kept in perfect tune if a socket wrench set is in your kit. 1977 New Yorker 9 May 34/3 Bicycling accessories for every contingency:..monkey wrenches, socket wrenches, wrench holders. |
b. In sense 5, as
socket-leaf,
socket-leaved;
socket-eyed adj.| c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. ix. §85 Its Stalks red-spotted and socket-leaved. Ibid. §86 Yellow Cape Dragon-Orchis, with broad, pointed Socket-leaves. 1964 F. Warner Early Poems 76 Laws That rule this meaningless and cancered globe In socket-eyed, gigantic merriment. 1975 New Yorker 26 May 104/1 Raskolnikov..is played by Georgi Taratorkin, a socket-eyed figure ransacked by self-inquiry and staring at us out of a very lonely desert. |
c. socket-money. (See
quots. and 3 b.)
slang.| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Socket-money, Demanded and Spent upon Marriage. 1772 T. Bridges Homer Trav. 127 We must likewise come upon ye, By way of costs, for socket-money. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Socket money, a whore's fee, or hire, also money paid for a treat, by a married man caught in an intrigue. 1865 Slang Dict. 240 Socket-money, money extorted by threats of exposure. |
Hence
ˈsocketful;
ˈsocketless a.| 1833 Fraser's Mag. VII. 720 The eyes have long been rayless, socketless. 1867 Gilfillan Night iii. 53 A socketless and fiercely blazing eye. 1872 B. Stewart Physics 30 Water exactly equal in bulk to the brass cylinder (that is to say, a socketful). |
▪ II. socket variant of
sucket.
▪ III. socket, v. (
ˈsɒkɪt)
Also 7
soccate.
[f. socket n.] 1. trans. To place in, or fit with, a socket.
| 1533 Lett. & P. Hen. VIII, VI. 642 For mendyng and sockettyng newe Cressytts. 1665 J. Webb Stone-Heng (1725) 214 A Pair of Shears composed of two Masts, socketted or mortaised into a Plank. 1761 Phil. Trans. LV. 248 They must be socketed before he can examine [etc.]. 1823 Sir C. Bell in Phil. Trans. CXIII. 173 In creatures where the eye is socketed in a cup of cartilage and cannot retract. 1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools Pl. P 5, These dies..are..socketed into the resisting head. 1888 Athenæum 16 June 764/3 Five stone bases socketed for wooden uprights. |
2. Golf. To strike (the ball) inadvertently off the socket or heel of a club; to make (a shot) in this way. Also
absol. Cf. shank v. 4.
| 1911 C. Leitch Golf for Girls 87 If you socket and don't want to, here's the cure. Keep your left elbow close to your side. 1920 Isis 27 Oct. 9/1 He socketed a couple of iron shots into the gorse. 1927 Daily Express 31 Jan. 8/2 A mashie that persists in socketing the ball. 1961 F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 210/2 Socket, to hit the ball with the shank of the club; also known as Shank. |
Hence
ˈsocketer, one who sockets the ball.
| 1912 New Bk. Golf 341 Even the most confirmed socketer will find that with such a club socketing is a sheer impossibility. 1952 H. Longhurst Golf Mixture 113 Frostick, of St George's Hill, tells the socketer to keep his head down. |