bluestocking

1. noun, obsolete A derogatory term for a female intellectual, especially one with strong literary interests. Refers to the Blue Stocking Society, an 18th-century literary society with female members. (Some members wore the eponymous blue stockings.) Of course you find bluestockings like me repugnant—you believe that a man should be the most educated person in the household. She's no bluestocking, Father, she's just a simple girl from a farm in the country. Look at all these books! Beatrice, I had no idea you were a bluestocking.

2. adjective, obsolete Describing such a person or society. Bluestocking societies are the scourge of London, if you ask me. These sorts of things should be of no interest to women. Ma'am, what is the purpose of the bluestocking gatherings held here? Why is my wife here when she could be tending to our home and children? The men in town seem to have banded together in opposition to the new "bluestocking circle" led by that woman from the city.