toga
Americannoun
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togas,
plural
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togae
plural
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(in ancient Rome) the loose outer garment worn by citizens in public.
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a robe of office, a professorial gown, or some other distinctive garment.
noun
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a garment worn by citizens of ancient Rome, consisting of a piece of cloth draped around the body
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the official vestment of certain offices
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of toga
1590–1600; < Latin; akin to tegmen
Explanation
A toga is the draped, dress-like garment worn by men in ancient Rome. Today, businessmen wear suits and ties, but thousands of years ago, the business suit of Rome was a toga. The "toga party" is practically a rite of passage in college. What could be more fun than dressing in a drapy, one-piece, off-the-shoulder tunic like they did in ancient Rome, while chugging beer and acting like an idiot. Frankly, it's hard to understand what the toga adds to the party. Is it more fun to get drunk in a weird, ancient half-dress than it is to get drunk in your own pants and shirt? The statue of Julius Caesar shows him wearing his toga, but much of it is hidden under his armored chest-plate.
Vocabulary lists containing toga
Ancient Rome - Introductory
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Ancient Rome - Middle School and High School
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The Roman Republic, Lessons 1–2
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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.
See Examples For:
A boy from Watts stares at the ocean, imagining ancient Greek boats sailing across the Pacific and his father in a toga and sneakers, proudly hoisting a trident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Its stitched-together scenes—frat pledge party, dining hall food fight, toga party, horse in Dean Wormer’s office, homecoming parade—were individually hilarious and held together only by the individual characters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
Others have stated that an ounce of gold was enough to buy a good toga in Roman times and is enough to buy a man’s suit today.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2025
An oversized floral print on a draped toga dress seemed to capture the Beatles’ psychedelic era, almost transporting wearers to London’s Camden vintage shops.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2023
When you think about it, there is no common thread of ownership, or any other meaning, across the phrases Sophocles’ play, Sophocles’ nose, Sophocles’ toga, Sophocles’mother, Sophocles’ hometown, Sophocles’ era, and Sophocles’ death.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The truth is that in this age cedant arma togae: it is the civilian who rules on the throne or behind it, and who makes the fighting-men his mere agents.
From Women and the Alphabet A Series of Essays by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
When the Romans said "cedant arma togae," they did not refer to civil officials and soldiers; the civil officials were then soldiers in their turn; professional soldiers did not exist.
From Battle Studies by Charles Jean Jacques Joseph Ardant du Picq
He left a number of "togae" to his Oxford friends, including Robert Holler, the son of his Norfolk neighbour, to whom he also bequeathed "unum pulvinar vocatum le bolstar."
From Life in the Medieval University by Robert S. Rait
It was in them that the much-abused lines O fortunam natam me Consule Romam, and Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi, occurred.
From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Charles Thomas Cruttwell
Another line quoted in the 2nd Philippic is Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi.
From Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Edmund Luce
There was a brief discussion of togas and other Roman paraphernalia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
The 1930s-era news accounts describe lavish parties with male servers draped in togas.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2024
No matter how skilled a participant might be at this dignified activity, the result would necessarily be floors, walls and togas splattered with sticky purple stains.
From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2023
Centuries later, the descendants of conquered Celts considered themselves fully Roman: speaking Latin as their native language, wearing togas, drinking wine, and serving in the Roman armies.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
Some were dressed in the remnants of togas.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
