Home › Glossary › Letter G

garters

Apparel
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Bands worn around the leg to hold up stockings, historically decorative and status-laden, often carrying associations of chivalric honor and romantic intrigue.

Detailed Definition
The garter holds an outsized place in poetry and legend, thanks in large part to the Order of the Garter and the famous anecdote of the Countess of Salisbury. Beyond that royal association, garters appear in love poetry as intimate tokens, sometimes embroidered with love messages or initials, and given as keepsakes. In pastoral and folk verse, a dropped garter can be the inciting incident for a flirtation or a joke. The act of tying a garter around a lover's leg is both practical and sensuous, and poets exploit this dual nature. In war poetry, a garter might be the last remnant of a fallen soldier's uniform, preserved as a relic. Its humble function of holding up stockings contrasts with its potential for heraldic display, making it a versatile symbol for the intersection of the mundane and the ceremonial.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Her garters, embroidered with his initials, were the only thing he had left of her"; "He knelt and fastened her garter with the reverence of a knight receiving a favor"; "The garter's ribbon was blue as a summer sky, blue as a vein"; "She lost her garter on the stair and laughed as he retrieved it"; "The garter's elastic had long since failed, but she kept it anyway"; "In the ballad, the garter was the token that betrayed her love"
Additional Notes
The garter holds an outsized place in poetry and legend, thanks in large part to the Order of the Garter and the famous anecdote of the Countess of Salisbury. Beyond that royal association, garters appear in love poetry as intimate tokens, sometimes embroidered with love messages or initials, and given as keepsakes. In pastoral and folk verse, a dropped garter can be the inciting incident for a flirtation or a joke. The act of tying a garter around a lover's leg is both practical and sensuous, and poets exploit this dual nature. In war poetry, a garter might be the last remnant of a fallen soldier's uniform, preserved as a relic. Its humble function of holding up stockings contrasts with its potential for heraldic display, making it a versatile symbol for the intersection of the mundane and the ceremonial. Related terms include band, ribbon, and belt. Students should note the garter's blend of the practical and the erotic, and its role in both folk tradition and high ceremonial verse.
Also Known As
hose supporters leg bands stocking ties
Skip to main content