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garb

[gahrb]
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noun
  1. a fashion or mode of dress, especially of a distinctive, uniform kind: in the garb of a monk.
  2. wearing apparel; clothes.
  3. outward appearance or form.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to dress; clothe.
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Origin of garb

1585–95; < Middle French garbe graceful outline < Old Italian garbo grace < Germanic; compare Old High German garawen, Old English gearwian to prepare, adorn (see gar2), gear
Related formsgarb·less, adjectiveun·der·garb, nounun·garbed, adjective

Synonyms

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1. style, cut. 2. clothing, dress, costume, attire.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for garbed

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The man, attendant though he was, was garbed in evening dress.

  • Several of them were garbed in military uniforms and armed with swords.

  • We were soon disrobed and garbed in the white suits of our enemies.

    The White Invaders

    Raymond King Cummings

  • Through the nights of activity she was garbed in rich, warm brown.

    Edge of the Jungle

    William Beebe

  • And behind him in the doorway stood a tall man, tonsured, garbed in russet.

    Long Will

    Florence Converse

British Dictionary definitions for garbed

garb

noun
  1. clothes, esp the distinctive attire of an occupation or professionclerical garb
  2. style of dress; fashion
  3. external appearance, covering, or attire
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verb
  1. (tr) to clothe or cover; attire
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Derived Formsgarbless, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Old French garbe graceful contour, from Old Italian garbo grace, probably of Germanic origin
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 garbed

garb

n.

1590s, "elegance, stylishness," from Middle French garbe "graceful outline" (Modern French galbe), from Italian garbo "grace, elegance," perhaps from Germanic (cf. Old High German gar(a)wi "dress, equipment, preparation;" see gear). Sense of "fashion of dress" is first attested 1620s.

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garb

v.

1836, from garb (n.). Related: Garbed; garbing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper