Meanings
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1
noun
a band worn around the leg to hold up a sock or stocking
He fastened each stocking with a narrow garter below the knee.
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2
noun
a ribbon or badge resembling a garter, especially the insignia of the British Order of the Garter
The portrait showed the nobleman wearing the star and garter of his order.
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3
noun
an informal shortened name for a garter snake
The children found two harmless garters beneath the shed.
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4
verb
to fasten or encircle with a garter
She gartered her stockings before putting on her shoes.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English garter, through Old Northern French gartier, from a word for the calf or bend of the knee. The name of the Order of the Garter comes from the band used as its emblem; garter snake refers to the animal's ribbonlike stripes.