Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An elasticized band worn around the leg to hold up a stocking or sock.
  • noun A suspender strap with a fastener attached to a girdle or belt to hold up a stocking or sock.
  • noun An elasticized band worn around the arm to keep the sleeve pushed up.
  • noun The badge of the Order of the Garter.
  • noun The order itself.
  • noun Membership in the order.
  • transitive verb To fasten and hold with a garter.
  • transitive verb To put a garter on.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To bind with a garter.
  • To invest with the garter, as a member of the Order of the Garter.
  • noun plural Leg-irons or shackles.
  • noun A tie or fastening to keep the stocking in place on the leg; especially, a band passing round the leg, either above or below the knee.
  • noun The badge of the Order of the Garter (which see, below); hence, membership in the order; also [capitalized], the order itself: as, to confer or to receive the garter; a knight of the Garter.
  • noun In heraldry, same as bendlet, : sometimes taken as occupying half the space of the bendlet, or quarter of the bend.
  • noun [capitalized] An abbreviation of Garter king-at-arms (which see, below).
  • noun plural In a circus, the tapes that are held up for a performer to leap over.
  • noun A semicircular key in a bench-vise.
  • noun In printing, an iron band which prevented the splitting of the wooden box that resisted the impression-spindle of the old form of handpress.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To bind with a garter.
  • transitive verb To invest with the Order of the Garter.
  • noun A band used to prevent a stocking from slipping down on the leg.
  • noun The distinguishing badge of the highest order of knighthood in Great Britain, called the Order of the Garter, instituted by Edward III.; also, the Order itself.
  • noun (Her.) Same as Bendlet.
  • noun (Zoöl.) a fish of the genus Lepidopus, having a long, flat body, like the blade of a sword; the scabbard fish.
  • noun the chief of the official heralds of England, king-at-arms to the Order of the Garter; -- often abbreviated to Garter.
  • noun (Zoöl.) one of several harmless American snakes of the genus Eutænia, of several species (esp. E. saurita and E. sirtalis); one of the striped snakes; -- so called from its conspicuous stripes of color.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A band worn around the leg to hold up a sock or stocking.
  • verb to fasten with a garter

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb fasten with or as if with a garter
  • noun a band (usually elastic) worn around the leg to hold up a stocking (or around the arm to hold up a sleeve)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, band to support socks, from Old North French gartier, from garet, bend of the knee, probably of Celtic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French gartier, jartier, from garet, jaret. Cognate with French jarretière.

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Examples

  • She was demonstrating precisely what you mention, the retrieval of a mistake in garter stitch.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • And to make matters worse, I am knitting it in garter stitch, contrary to instructions.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • And to make matters worse, I am knitting it in garter stitch, contrary to instructions.

    Archive 2009-08-01 Jean 2009

  • To fix a split stitch in garter stitch, find yourself a 2 headed crochet hook.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • And laddering down to fix one is next to impossible (for me) to do neatly in garter stitch.

    Archive 2009-08-01 Jean 2009

  • P.S. could you find a section of the stole that is reversible (at least when done in garter stitch) and add a segment of that in the exact center?

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • And laddering down to fix one is next to impossible (for me) to do neatly in garter stitch.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • I am having trouble seeing exactly what is happening, what with the fine, dark yarn and working in garter stitch.

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • I am having trouble seeing exactly what is happening, what with the fine, dark yarn and working in garter stitch.

    Archive 2009-08-01 Jean 2009

  • She was demonstrating precisely what you mention, the retrieval of a mistake in garter stitch.

    Archive 2009-09-01 Jean 2009

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