soutane

[ soo-tahn ]

/ suˈtɑn /

noun Ecclesiastical.

a cassock.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for soutane

With these sentiments Monsignor Pamphilio slipped the work under his soutane.
The Library|Andrew Lang
Let us change robes—give me that "soutane," and put on the blouse.
Maurice Tiernay Soldier of Fortune|Charles James Lever
Within the doorway, the Abbe fumbled in the pocket of his soutane and rattled a box of matches.
The Last Hope|Henry Seton Merriman
Let us change robes; give me that 'soutane,' and put on the blouse.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850.|Various

A "Brother," in a soutane, was going about from pillar to pillar, lighting the gas.
Saturday's Child|Kathleen Norris

British Dictionary definitions for soutane

soutane

/ (suːˈtæn) /

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

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-).