# stocking

Pronunciation: say "STOK-ing" US /ˈstɑkɪŋ/, UK /ˈstɒkɪŋ/

## Noun

1. A soft knit or woven garment worn on the foot and lower leg beneath shoes or other footwear.
   - Simple: A soft piece of clothing that covers your foot and lower leg, worn under shoes.
   - _The dancer rolled a silk stocking up to her knee before the performance._
   - _Sheer stockings were once a staple of formal dress._
2. A large, sock-like bag for holding small Christmas gifts, usually hung on a mantelpiece.
   - Simple: A large sock-shaped bag that you hang up to hold small Christmas gifts.
   - _On Christmas morning the children rushed to empty their stockings._
   - _He hung a red stocking above the hearth and waited for morning._
4. A broad ring of differently colored fur on the lower part of a four-legged animal's leg.
   - Simple: A band of fur in a different color around the lower leg of an animal.
   - _The mare's dark coat was broken by a single white stocking on the foreleg._
   - _Judges noted the matching stockings on all four of the colt's legs._
5. In forestry, a measure comparing how densely trees actually grow on a site with the density that would make the best possible use of the land.
   - Simple: A measure of how many trees grow in an area compared to the best number for that land.
   - _Surveyors calculated the stocking across the plantation before recommending a thinning._
   - _Low stocking after the fire left much of the soil exposed._
6. A knitted hood of cotton thread that a special process converts into an incandescent mantle for gas lighting.
   - Simple: A knitted cotton hood that is treated to become the glowing part of a gas lamp.
   - _Workers dipped each stocking in a solution before it was fired into a mantle._
   - _The delicate stockings were knitted by machine and shipped to the lamp works._

## Verb

3. Present participle of stock. — present participle and gerund of stock
   - Simple: Present participle of stock. Use this form when filling shelves or supplies is happening right now.
   - _The warehouse crew spent the morning stocking pallets of canned goods._
   - _They are stocking the lake with trout for the fishing season._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4, 6** — This comes from "stock" (to cover with material) plus the suffix "-ing". It is a corruption of the old plural ending "-en", that is "stocken", which is now used as a singular.
**Meanings 3, 5** — This comes from the word "stock" plus the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stocking (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).