cassock

[kas-uhk]

noun

1. a long, close-fitting garment worn by members of the clergy or others participating in church services.

2. a lightweight, double-breasted ecclesiastical coat or jacket, worn under the Geneva gown.

3. a member of the clergy.

cassock

/ ˈkæsək /

noun

1. Christianity an ankle-length garment, usually black, worn by priests and choristers

Other Word Forms

• cassocked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cassock¹

1540–50; < Middle French casaque, perhaps < a Turkic word akin to the source of Cossack ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of cassock¹

C16: from Old French casaque, from Italian casacca a long coat, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Although Leo is more inscrutable than Francis, Catholics are beginning to get a better sense of the man beneath the cassock.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The image posted by Trump on Friday night features him wearing a white cassock and pointed miter, traditionally worn by a bishop.

Read more on BBC

The cardinal - in red mozzetta and cassock - is shown blessing the body of the late Pope during the rite of the declaration of death.

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Most priests traded in their cassocks for plain black shirts with Roman collars.

Read more on Seattle Times

The bloodstained word is painted on scarlet satin, the material of a cardinal’s cassock.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bishop 
• chaplain 
• cleric 
• evangelist 
• missionary 
• pastor 
• pontiff 
• preacher 
• priest 
• rabbi