Could someone explain to me what a socket is? I see it in many acronyms in context of SSL, etc.Also, why is it called a socket? Is it purely because it was what a name they invented? Or was it the first name they came up with? 
What is a socket?
networking;history;terminology;socket
A socket is just a logical endpoint for communication. They exist on the transport layer. You can send and receive things on a socket, you can bind and listen to a socket. A socket is specific to a protocol, machine, and port, and is addressed as such in the header of a packet.Beej's guides to Network Programming and Inter-Process Communication both have good information on how to use sockets, and even answer this exact question.