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sock¹

(sŏk)

1. A garment that covers the foot and part of the leg usually made of cotton or wool and worn for warmth or for protection from abrasion from a shoe or boot.

2. Meteorology A windsock.

a. A light shoe worn by comic actors in ancient Greek and Roman plays.

b. Comic drama; comedy: "He ... knew all niceties of the sock and buskin" (Byron).

tr.v. socked, sock·ing, socks

To provide with socks.

Phrasal Verbs:

sock away Informal

To put (money) away in a safe place for future use.

sock in

To cause to be closed to traffic, as by reducing visibility or physically impeding passage: fog that socked in the airport; ice that socked in the harbor.

[Middle English socke, from Old English socc, a kind of light shoe, from Latin soccus, possibly from Greek sunkhis, sukkhos, Phrygian shoe.]

sock²

(sŏk)

v. socked, sock·ing, socks

v.tr.

To hit or strike forcefully; punch.

v.intr.

To deliver a blow.

A hard blow or punch.

Idiom:

sock it to (someone) Slang

To deliver a forceful comment, reprimand, or physical blow to someone else.

[Origin unknown.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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