socket

socket (ˈsɒkɪt)
—n
1.	a device into which an electric plug can be inserted in order to make a connection in a circuit
2.	chiefly (Brit) point, Informal Brit names: plug, US and Canadian name: outlet such a device mounted on a wall and connected to the electricity supply
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
	a.  a bony hollow into which a part or structure fits: a tooth socket; an eye socket
	b.  the receptacle of a ball-and-socket joint
—vb
6.	(tr) to furnish with or place into a socket
[C13: from Anglo-Norman soket a little ploughshare, from soc, of Celtic origin; compare Cornish soch ploughshare]

socket

sow (n.) "female pig." Meaning "hollow part or piece for receiving and holding something" first recorded 1448; anatomical sense is from 1601; domestic electrical sense first recorded 1885. Socket wrench is attested from 1905.

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.

socket definition

networking
The Berkeley Unix mechansim for creating a virtual connection between processes. Sockets interface Unix's standard I/O with its network communication facilities. They can be of two types, stream (bi-directional) or datagram (fixed length destination-addressed messages). The socket library function socket() creates a communications end-point or socket and returns a file descriptor with which to access that socket. The socket has associated with it a socket address, consisting of a port number and the local host's network address.
Unix manual page: socket(2).
(1995-01-31)