sartorial · adj — of or relating to the tailoring of clothing. It carries an Arena rating of 1524, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sartorial ranks #1,654 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,399 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,295 of 17,172 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,493 of 17,207 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
sartorial is pronounced /sɑːˈtɔː.ɹi.əl/.
Why “sartorial” is a great word
Pertaining to the craft of tailoring, clothing, or a person's considered style of dress. From New Latin *sartorius* ("pertaining to a tailor"), from Late Latin *sartor* ("tailor"), from Latin *sarcire* ("to patch, mend"), first attested in English in the early 19th century. Unlike "vestimentary" (which neutrally denotes garments in general) or "fashionable" (which chases the moment's approval), sartorial speaks to a deeper grammar of cloth: the silent drape of a well-cut jacket, the precise fall of a trouser break, the strategic choice of a patched elbow on an otherwise austere blazer. It is the quiet philosophy that what we wear is not merely covering, but a crafted argument about the self.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From New Latin sartorius (“pertaining to a tailor”), from Late Latin sartor (“tailor”), from Latin sarcire (“to patch, mend”) + -ial.
adj
- Of or relating to the tailoring of clothing.e.g.“His sartorial rebellions were slight: he wore jeans, for example, when giving tutorials.” — 2001 December 21, Jay Parini, “By Their Clothes Ye Shall Know Them”, in The Chronicle of Higher Education, B24:
- Of or relating to the quality of dress.e.g.“In his smart suit Jacob was by far the most sartorial of our party.”
- Of or relating to the sartorius muscle.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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