LanguageAdapted from Wikipedia
Bluestocking, an old word for a learned woman, is said to come from the blue stockings worn by a man.
In 18th-century England, gatherings for conversation became known as Blue-stocking Clubs. James Boswell wrote that one admired early member, Benjamin Stillingfleet, wore blue stockings, and that people said, "We can do nothing without the blue stockings." That, he wrote, is how the title was established. The word later came to mean an educated, intellectual woman.
Sources
- Bluestocking Wikipedia
- The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (James Boswell) Project Gutenberg
Adapted from Wikipedia's article Benjamin Stillingfleet, first featured in its "Did you know" section, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Browse reworded it after checking the sources above; this fact's text is offered under the same licence.
What the wording keeps
- 'is said to': Boswell's account, one of several origin stories
- 18th century
Checked against its sources by an AI research agent on 4 November 2026; not yet reviewed by a person.
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