Hosier

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhəʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A professional involved in the design, manufacture, or sale of leg garments such as stockings and socks
2. A person or company that specializes in the retailing or creating of knitted or woven legwear items
3. A tradesperson who focuses on creating or selling garments for the legs, specifically items like stockings, tights, and socks

Etymology: A hosier was once someone who sold stockings, socks and other garments for the legs, and the word still names that trade. It comes from Middle English "hosiere", built from "hose", the medieval term for close-fitting leg coverings, with the suffix "-ier" added to name the person who deals in or makes something. The pattern is the same as in "grocer" or "glazier": a trade noun formed by attaching "-ier" to the goods involved. Hose itself once covered a whole outfit of leg wear, not just the tights or stockings we now picture, which is why the trade name stayed attached to these garments even as the word for the item narrowed. The shop where such goods were sold came to be called a hosiery, and that word now covers the goods themselves rather than the seller.

Synonyms: stocking maker, sock maker