silk-stocking

adjective

Elegantly dressed; aristocratic; luxurious.

“June 11, 1812, Thomas Jefferson, letter to Elbridge Gerry [They] will find their levees crowded with silk-stocking gentry, but no yeomanry; an army of officers without soldiers.”

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Meanings

adjectivesilk-stocking (not comparable)

alternative silk-stockinged

  1. archaicderogatorynot comparableElegantly dressed; aristocratic; luxurious.

    June 11, 1812, Thomas Jefferson, letter to Elbridge Gerry [They] will find their levees crowded with silk-stocking gentry, but no yeomanry; an army of officers without soldiers.

Origin

Among men, silk stockings were formerly worn chiefly by the rich.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

silk-stocking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silk-stocking

MLA

“silk-stocking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silk-stocking. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “silk-stocking,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silk-stocking.

Source: silk-stocking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.