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robe

[rohb]
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noun
  1. a long, loose or flowing gown or outer garment worn by men or women as ceremonial dress, an official vestment, or garb of office.
  2. any long, loose garment, especially one for wear while lounging or preparing to dress, as a bathrobe or dressing gown.
  3. a woman's gown or dress, especially of a more elaborate kind: a robe for the evening.
  4. robes, apparel in general; dress; costume.
  5. a piece of fur, cloth, knitted work, etc., used as a blanket, covering, or wrap: a buffalo robe; a lap robe.
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verb (used with object), robed, rob·ing.
  1. to clothe or invest with a robe or robes; dress; array.
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verb (used without object), robed, rob·ing.
  1. to put on a robe.
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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. 2018

Related Words

frockgarmentbathrobevestmentcostumedresskimonomantlehabitnegligeewrapperoutfitcapecoveringhousecoatmuumuupeignoir

Examples from the Web for robe

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The robe of fine Milesian texture, was saffron-coloured, with a purple edge.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • That which was the body has come to be only the rich fringe of the nation's robe.

  • He was almost completely enveloped in a robe of softened skins.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • He was throwing back the robe to leap from the sleigh when the figure reached him.

    Tiverton Tales

    Alice Brown

  • One might edge a wall-paper or fringe a robe with a recurring decimal.

    Alarms and Discursions

    G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for robe

robe

noun
  1. any loose flowing garment, esp the official vestment of a peer, judge, or academic
  2. a dressing gown or bathrobe
  3. Australian informal a wardrobe
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verb
  1. to put a robe, etc, on (oneself or someone else); dress
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Word Origin

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

n.

"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.

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v.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper