garter
[gahr-ter]
- Also called, British, sock suspender, suspender. an article of clothing for holding up a stocking or sock, usually an elastic band around the leg or an elastic strap hanging from a girdle or other undergarment.
- a similar band worn to hold up a shirt sleeve.
- a leather strap for passing through a loop at the back of a boot and buckling around the leg to keep the boot from slipping.
- British.
- the badge of the Order of the Garter.
- membership in the Order.
- (initial capital letter)the Order itself.
- (usually initial capital letter)a member of the Order.
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- to fasten with a garter.
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Origin of garter
1300–50; Middle English < Old North French gartier, derivative of garet the bend of the knee < Celtic; compare Welsh gar shank, Breton gâr leg
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for garter
Contemporary Examples
And just in case she gets stuck up there, she has a garter belt–fanny pack around her thigh to keep a phone in and call for help.
The Order of the Garter is the highest order of chivalry in the UK, and is in the exclusive gift of the monarch.
The most persistent story about the Garter was first recorded in the fifteenth century.
The Order of the Garter has had a continuous history since Edward III founded the Order in 1348.
He should have been awarded a knighthood, even possibly the Garter.
Historical Examples
"I jest took up a garter," she said, with some apology in her tone.
Meadow GrassAlice Brown
Ten o'clock in the morning beheld them at the door of the Garter Inn at Harwich.
The Tavern KnightRafael Sabatini
What could the Peerage, what could the Garter, what could a seat in the Cabinet do for me?
Tony ButlerCharles James Lever
There was a great lath of a fellow who kept the "Star and Garter" public-house.
RecollectionsDavid Christie Murray
It looked the kind of thing a woman might carry in her garter.
The Grell MysteryFrank Froest
garter
- a band, usually of elastic, worn round the arm or leg to hold up a shirtsleeve, sock, or stocking
- US and Canadian
- an elastic strap attached to a belt or corset having a fastener at the end, for holding up women's stockings
- a similar fastener attached to a garter belt worn by men in order to support socksAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): suspender
- have someone's guts for garters See gut (def. 10)
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- (tr) to fasten, support, or secure with or as if with a garter
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Word Origin
C14: from Old Northern French gartier, from garet bend of the knee, probably of Celtic origin
Garter
- See Order of the Garter
- (sometimes not capital)
- the badge of this Order
- membership of this Order
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for garter
n.
early 14c., from Old North French gartier "band just above or below the knee" (Old French jartier, 14c., Modern French jarretière), from garet "bend of the knee," perhaps from Gaulish (cf. Welsh garr "leg"). Garter as the highest order of knighthood (mid-14c.), according to Froissart was established c.1344 by Edward III, though the usual story of how it came about is late (1614) and perhaps apocryphal. The verb is mid-15c., from the noun. Garter snake (U.S.) so called from resemblance to a ribbon. Garter belt first noticed 1913.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper