robe

[rohb]

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noun

a long, loose or flowing gown or outer garment worn by men or women as ceremonial dress, an official vestment, or garb of office.

any long, loose garment, especially one for wear while lounging or preparing to dress, as a bathrobe or dressing gown.

a woman's gown or dress, especially of a more elaborate kind: a robe for the evening.

robes, apparel in general; dress; costume.

a piece of fur, cloth, knitted work, etc., used as a blanket, covering, or wrap: a buffalo robe; a lap robe.

verb (used with object), robed, rob·ing.

to clothe or invest with a robe or robes; dress; array.

verb (used without object), robed, rob·ing.

to put on a robe.

Nearby words

Origin of robe

1225–75; Middle English < Old French: orig., spoil, booty < Germanic (akin to rob); compare Old High German roub > German Raub

Related formsrobe·less, adjectiverob·er, nounun·der·robe, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for robe

Not because she disagrees with a hypothetical future president, or because she simply likes the robe.
Justice Ginsburg Shouldn’t Quit Just Yet|Kevin Bleyer|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My fantasy unravels when she opens the robe, revealing a sling around her broken arm.
The Singular Artist of New Yorkistan|Lizzie Crocker|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While it may stretch a long way, that robe contains relatively little material.
Comet Surfing on a Rocket|Matthew R. Francis|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He grabs her by the front of her robe, and he hauls her off down the hall.
The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis|Richard Ben Cramer|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They wrapped me in a robe and I went back to the living room.
Inside Gaddafi’s Harem: The Story of a Girl’s Abduction|Annick Cojean|August 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When she had passed the bridge she stopped, put on her robe, and alighted.
Memoirs of Leonora Christina|Leonora Christina Ulfeldt
And she said, "An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe."
The Bible Story|Rev. Newton Marshall Hall
Take this card, fasten it on your robe, and meet me here again.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXLII. Vol. LV. April, 1844|Various
The robe of the High Priest is also evidently taken by the painter from a silk robe, and is very rich.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various
In that hollow I hid the jewels that I carried wrapt in silk in the bosom of my robe.
The Lady Of Blossholme|H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for robe

robe

noun

any loose flowing garment, esp the official vestment of a peer, judge, or academic

a dressing gown or bathrobe

Australian informal a wardrobe

verb

to put a robe, etc, on (oneself or someone else); dress

Word Origin for robe

C13: from Old French: of Germanic origin; compare Old French rober to rob, Old High German roub booty

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 robe

robe

"long, loose outer garment," late 13c., from Old French robe "long, loose outer garment" (12c.), from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German rouba "vestments"), from West Germanic *raubo "booty" (cf. Old High German roub "robbery, breakage"), which also yielded rob (v.).

Presumably the notion is of garments taken from the enemy as spoils, and the Old French word had a secondary sense of "plunder, booty," while Germanic cognates had both senses; e.g. Old English reaf "plunder, booty, spoil; garment, armor, vestment." Meaning "dressing gown" is from 1854. Metonymic sense of "the legal profession" is attested from 1640s.

robe

late 14c., from robe (n.). Related: Robed; robing.

robe

noun

verb (used with object), robed, rob·ing.

verb (used without object), robed, rob·ing.

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Origin of robe

Examples from the Web for robe

robe

noun

verb

Word Origin for robe

robe

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