surplice
Americannoun
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a loose-fitting, broad-sleeved white vestment, worn over the cassock by clergy and choristers.
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a garment in which the two halves of the front cross diagonally.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of surplice
1250–1300; Middle English surplis < Anglo-French surpliz, syncopated variant of Old French surpeliz < Medieval Latin superpellīcium ( vestīmentum ) over-pelt (garment), neuter of superpellīcius (adj.), equivalent to Latin super- super- + pellīt ( us ) clothed with skins + -ius adj. suffix
Explanation
If you sing in the choir at your church, you might wear a surplice — a loose, wide-sleeved robe. It says a lot about you if you've ever donned one of these in earnest — namely, that you are or have been a chorister or a member of the clergy. It's a coverall garment that gives a certain ceremonial look in various Christian services. The Latin root, curiously, means "over fur garment;" The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica helpfully informs us that "it was formerly put on over the fur garments which used to be worn in church as a protection against the cold."
Vocabulary lists containing surplice
East of Eden
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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
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All's Well That Ends Well
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the novel, we get to know the men by their nicknames: Mexique, Judas, One-Eyed Dah-veed, Monsieur Pet-airs, the Young Pole, Bill the Hollander, Garibaldi, Surplice, the Woodchuck and so on.
From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2020
John Surplice, pan-European fund manager at Invesco Perpetual in London, said he also had not changed portfolio positions even if policy clarity is lacking.
From Reuters • Apr. 6, 2018
“It’s quite difficult to have a definitive view,” Surplice said.
From Reuters • Apr. 6, 2018
Surplice, which was at first an undershirt to keep the cold-blooded monks and abbots warm and, to be proper, must still be worn with the alb.
From Time Magazine Archive
They were the yearlings Surplice and Loadstone, and both were destined to make historic names in the classic races.
From The Portland Peerage Romance by Archard, Charles J.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
