socket

[sok-it] /ˈsɒk ɪt/
noun
1.
a hollow part or piece for receiving and holding some part or thing.
2.
Electricity.
  1. a device intended to hold an electric light bulb mechanically and connect it electrically to circuit wires.
  2. Also called wall socket. a socket placed in a wall to receive a plug that makes an electrical connection with supply wiring.
3.
Anatomy.
  1. a hollow in one part that receives another part:
    the socket of the eye.
  2. the concavity of a joint:
    the socket of the hip.
verb (used with object)
4.
to place in or fit with a socket.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English soket < Anglo-French, equivalent to Old French soc plowshare (< Gaulish *soccos; compare Welsh swch, Old Irish socc) + -et -et
Related forms
socketless, adjective
unsocketed, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for sockets

socket

/ˈsɒkɪt/
noun
1.
a device into which an electric plug can be inserted in order to make a connection in a circuit
2.
(mainly Brit) such a device mounted on a wall and connected to the electricity supply Informal Brit names point, plug US and Canadian name outlet
3.
a part with an opening or hollow into which some other part, such as a pipe, probe, etc, can be fitted
4.
a spanner head having a recess suitable to be fitted over the head of a bolt and a keyway into which a wrench can be fitted
5.
(anatomy)
  1. a bony hollow into which a part or structure fits: a tooth socket, an eye socket
  2. the receptacle of a ball-and-socket joint
verb
6.
(transitive) to furnish with or place into a socket
Word Origin
C13: from Anglo-Norman soket a little ploughshare, from soc, of Celtic origin; compare Cornish soch ploughshare
Word Origin and History for sockets

socket

n.

c.1300, "spearhead" (originally one shaped like a plowshare), from Anglo-French soket "spearhead, plowshare" (mid-13c.), diminutive of Old French soc "plowshare," from Vulgar Latin *soccus, perhaps from a Gaulish source, from Celtic *sukko- (cf. Welsh swch "plowshare," Middle Irish soc "plowshare"), properly "hog's snout," from PIE *su- "pig" (cf. Latin sus "swine;" see sow (n.) "female pig").

Meaning "hollow part or piece for receiving and holding something" first recorded early 15c.; anatomical sense is from c.1600; domestic electrical sense first recorded 1885. Socket wrench is attested from 1837. The verb is 1530s, from the noun. Related: Socketed; socketing.

sockets in Medicine

socket sock·et (sŏk'ĭt)
n.

  1. The concave part of a joint that receives the articular end of a bone.

  2. A hollow or concavity into which a part, such as an eye fits.