What does bobbysock mean?
A bobbysock is an ankle-length sock, usually plain white and often worn folded or rolled down at the cuff, that became an emblematic garment of American teenage fashion in the 1940s and early 1950s. The word is used almost exclusively in the plural—bobbysocks—since socks naturally occur in pairs, and it belongs chiefly to North American English; elsewhere the plainer term 'ankle sock' is more common. Culturally, the bobbysock is inseparable from images of poodle skirts, saddle shoes, sweater sets, and soda-fountain youth culture, and its wearers were famously nicknamed 'bobby-soxers,' a term popularized during the Frank Sinatra craze of the mid-1940s. Today the word survives largely in nostalgic, historical, or costume contexts, where it instantly signals mid-century Americana rather than ordinary hosiery.
nounAn ankle-length sock, typically white and often worn folded down at the top; the term is strongly associated with teenage fashion of the 1940s and 1950s.
- An ankle-length sock, typically white and often worn turned down, associated especially with American teenage fashion of the mid-20th century.
"The girls at the soda fountain wore pleated skirts and crisp white bobbysocks."
"She rolled her bobbysocks down neatly below each knee before putting on her saddle shoes."
"A vintage photograph from 1945 shows a crowd of teenagers in sweaters and bobbysocks waiting outside the theater."
The plural is by far the most common form in actual use, since socks are worn in pairs; the singular 'bobbysock' is rare outside dictionaries.
"She pulled on her bobbysocks and laced up her saddle shoes."
The bobbysock was so central to 1940s youth culture that teenage girls who wore them got their own name: 'bobby-soxers.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bobbysock
The word combines 'bobby,' an informal American diminutive suggesting something small or ordinary (the same element found in 'bobby pin'), with 'sock,' which derives from Old English 'socc' and ultimately from Latin 'soccus,' a light low-healed slipper. The compound arose in American English in the early twentieth century and became widespread during the 1940s, when ankle socks became the signature footwear of teenage girls. Its derivative 'bobby-soxer' entered popular usage around the same period to describe adolescent female fans of singers such as Frank Sinatra.
Related word forms
How bobbysock is actually used
The word is almost always encountered in the plural form 'bobbysocks,' since socks come in pairs. It carries strong retro connotations, evoking 1940s and 1950s American youth culture, and is chiefly North American; British speakers would more likely say 'ankle socks.'
Easily confused with bobbysock
A bobby pin is a small hairpin used to hold hair in place, while a bobbysock is an ankle-length sock; both share the same 'bobby' element meaning something small or everyday.