blue stocking
Preserved but no longer current.
A female pedant. In 1400 a society of ladies and gentlemen was formed at Venice, distinguished by the colour of their stockings, and called della calza. It lasted till 1590, when it appeared in Pans and was the rage among the lady savants. From France it came to England in 1780, when Mrs. Mon- tague displayed the badge of the Bas-bleu club at her evening assemblies. Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet was a constant attendant of the soirees.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “blue stocking” mean?
A female pedant. In 1400 a society of ladies and gentlemen was formed at Venice, distinguished by the colour of their stockings, and called della calza. It lasted till 1590, when it appeared in Pans and was the rage among the lady savants. From France it came to England in 1780, when Mrs. Mon- tague displayed the badge of the Bas-bleu club at her evening assemblies. Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet was a constant attendant of the soirees.
Is “blue stocking” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.