/ ˈbluːstɒkɪŋ; NAmE -stɑːk-/ noun
( old-fashioned , BrE , sometimes disapproving ) a well-educated woman who is more interested in ideas and studying than in traditionally feminine things
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WORD ORIGIN
late 17th cent.: originally used to describe a man wearing blue worsted (instead of formal black silk) stockings; extended to mean in informal dress . Later the term denoted a person who attended the literary assemblies held (c.1750) by three London society ladies, where some of the men favoured less formal dress. The women who attended became known as blue-stocking ladies or blue-stockingers .