What does gartering mean?
Gartering is the act of fastening a stocking, or occasionally another garment, with a garter, a band traditionally worn around the leg. The word most often appears in descriptions of court dress, military costume, and historical settings, because garters were once an ordinary part of hose and later became decorative ribbons, insignia, and symbols of rank. “Gartering” is therefore more literary or historical than the simpler modern “putting on a garter,” and it may sound ceremonial rather than practical. The verb can also be used when a strap is drawn securely around a person's leg or when someone is formally marked with a garter. In contemporary English, “garter belt” is much more common than “gartering,” while references to garters often evoke formal dress or the British Order of the Garter. Understanding the word clarifies descriptions of traditional clothing and preserves a vivid piece of social history: securing a stocking was once a deliberate ritual involving ribbon, tension, and, in some settings, ceremony.
verb (present participle of garter)To fasten or secure a stocking or other garment with a garter. In ceremonial or heraldic contexts, it can also mean to decorate or mark someone with a garter.
- To fasten or secure a stocking or garment with a garter.
- To decorate or mark someone with a garter, especially in a ceremonial or heraldic context.
"The attendant carefully gartered the knight's stocking before the ceremony."
"Her costume brief called for gartering the stocking beneath the ceremonial robe."
"At the ceremony, the herald was gartering the knight with a ribbon of blue."
Before elastic, a ribbon did the lifting: gartering was how a stocking stayed put.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gartering come from?
The word was formed from English “garter” with the productive suffix “-ing,” marking a present participle. English “garter” dates from the late Middle English period and comes through Old French “gartiere,” a term for a band associated with a stocking or leg. The word developed from the practical band that held up hose into a decorative and ceremonial emblem, while the verb came to describe fastening or investing with such a band.
How gartering is actually used
The word is literary, historical, or ceremonial in modern English. It is more characteristic of descriptions of traditional dress and ritual than of everyday conversation.
Easily confused with gartering
A garter is a band that secures or decorates a stocking, whereas a gaiter is a covering for the lower leg and ankle, often part of a shoe.