soutane

[soo-tahn]

noun Ecclesiastical.

a cassock.

Origin of soutane

1830–40; < French < Italian sottana, feminine of sottano placed below, equivalent to sott(o) below (< Latin subtus) + -ano -an; form of the French word influenced by sous under

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for soutane

Historical Examples of soutane

Let us change robes—give me that "soutane," and put on the blouse.
Maurice Tiernay Soldier of Fortune
Charles James Lever
And Prince Max, tired of ballet girls, is about to take the soutane.
Secret Memoirs: The Story of Louise, Crown Princess
Henry W. Fischer
With these sentiments Monsignor Pamphilio slipped the work under his soutane.
The Library
Andrew Lang
A "Brother," in a soutane, was going about from pillar to pillar, lighting the gas.
Saturday's Child
Kathleen Norris
He was pushed and struck by them, his soutane was torn to ribbons.
Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of France
George Warton Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for soutane

soutane

noun

RC Church a priest's cassock

Word Origin for soutane

C19: from French, from Old Italian sottana, from Medieval Latin subtanus (adj) (worn) beneath, from Latin subtus below

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 soutane

"long, buttoned gown or frock with sleeves, outer garment of Roman Catholic ecclesiastics," 1838, from French soutane, from Old French sotane "undershirt," from Medieval Latin subtana "an under-cassock," from Latin subtus "beneath, under, below" (see sub-).