From Latin 'vestimentum' (garment), from 'vestis' (clothing), from PIE *wes- — kin to 'invest' and 'travesty.'
Definition
A ceremonial robe or garment worn by clergy or officials during religious services; any of the ritual garments prescribed for liturgical functions.
The Full Story
Latin13th centurywell-attested
From OldFrench 'vestement' and Latin 'vestīmentum' (a garment, an article of clothing, dress), derived from 'vestīre' (to clothe, to dress, to cover with a garment), from 'vestis' (garment, clothing, a covering for the body). The Latin root traces to Proto-Indo-European *wes- (to clothe, to wear, to dress), one of the most productive clothing-vocabularyroots in the proto-language. It generated: Latin 'vestis' and its derivatives — 'vestibulum' (entrance hall — possibly the place where outer garments are removed
Did you know?
The financial term 'invest' comes from the sameLatin root: 'investīre' originally meant to clothe someone in the robes of office, to dress them in the vestments of authority. The modern sense of putting money into something preserves this metaphor — you 'clothe' a venture with capital, just as you clothe a priest with sacred garments.
), 'investīre' (to clothe someone in authority — 'invest,' 'investiture'), 'travestīre' (to dress across, to disguise — 'travesty,' 'transvestite'); Greek 'hénnymi' (ἕννυμι, to clothe), 'estḗs' (ἐσθής, garment), and possibly 'esthiō' (ἐσθίω, to eat — the garment as that which is 'worn away'); Germanic *waz-jan (to wear — Old English 'werian,' English 'wear'); and Sanskrit 'vaste' (he
wear(English (Old English werian — to put on clothing, PIE *wes-))invest(English (Latin investīre — to clothe in authority or office))travesty(English (French travestir — to dress across, to disguise))vest(English (Latin vestis — garment, reduced to a bodily inner garment))divest(English (Latin dīvestīre — to unclothe, to strip of authority))vaste(Sanskrit (he puts on a garment — direct PIE *wes- cognate))