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alb

[alb]
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noun Ecclesiastical.
  1. a linen vestment with narrow sleeves, worn chiefly by priests, now invariably white in the Western Church but can be in a color in the Eastern Church.
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Origin of alb

before 1100; Middle English albe, (h)aube (< MF), Old English albe < Latin alba (vestis) white (garment); compare Dutch albe, Old High German alba (German Albe)

alb.

  1. (in prescriptions) white.
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Origin of alb.

From the Latin word albus

Alb.

  1. Albania.
  2. Albanian.
  3. Albany.
  4. Alberta.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

frock, robe, garb, tunic, stole, cincture, habiliment, covering, garment, uniform, dress, clothing, hood, gear, alb, cassock, vesture, amice, orale

Examples from the Web for alb

Historical Examples

  • He next donned the alb, the symbol of purity, beginning with the right sleeve.

    Abbe Mouret's Transgression

    Emile Zola

  • The rochet resembles an alb, but is shorter and without sleeves.

    The Worship of the Church

    Jacob A. Regester

  • The alb is confined at the waist by a white cord called the girdle.

    The Worship of the Church

    Jacob A. Regester

  • When I am to blame for anything, Alb is sure to be suspected.

  • Alb (he was thinking, no doubt) was not getting much fun for his money.

British Dictionary definitions for alb

alb

noun
  1. Christianity a long white linen vestment with sleeves worn by priests and others
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Word Origin

Old English albe, from Medieval Latin alba (vestis) white (clothing)

Alb.

abbreviation for
  1. Albania(n)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for alb

n.

late Old English albe, from Late Latin alba (in tunica alba or vestis alba "white vestment"), fem. of albus "white," from PIE root *albho- "white" (cf. Greek alphos "white leprosy," alphiton "barley meal;" Old High German albiz, Old English elfet "swan," literally "the white bird;" Old Church Slavonic and Russian lebedi, Polish łabędź "swan;" Hittite alpash "cloud").

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper