sock
Preserved but no longer current.
The Eton College term for a treat, synonymous with "chuck" used at Westminster and other schools. Believed to be derived from the monkish word SOKE. An old writer speaks of a pious man "who did not SOKE for three days," meaning that he fasted. The word is still used by the boys of Heriot’s Hospital School at Edinburgh, and signifies a sweetmeat; being derived from the same source as sugar, suck, SUCRE, &c.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “sock” mean?
The Eton College term for a treat, synonymous with "chuck" used at Westminster and other schools. Believed to be derived from the monkish word SOKE. An old writer speaks of a pious man "who did not SOKE for three days," meaning that he fasted. The word is still used by the boys of Heriot’s Hospital School at Edinburgh, and signifies a sweetmeat; being derived from the same source as sugar, suck, SUCRE, &c.
Is “sock” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.