vesture means A covering of, or like, clothing. It carries an Arena rating of 1498, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vesture ranks #3,116 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,201 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,375 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,806 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
vesture is pronounced /ˈvɛst͡ʃə(ɹ)/.
Why “vesture” is a great word
A covering or garment, or clothing collectively. From Middle English vesture, from Anglo-Norman and Old French vesteüre, from Vulgar Latin vestītūra ("clothing"), from Latin vestītus, past participle of vestiō ("to clothe"), from vestis ("garment"). First attested in the late 14th century. Unlike "apparel," that common, mercantile word for what one wears, or "vestment," which is reserved for the sacred robes of ritual, "vesture" is the poetic totality of covering—archaic, formal, and quietly encompassing. It is the heavy, woolen cloak of a medieval traveler, the dew-laden grass that is the meadow's green vesture at dawn, and the soft, final shroud of falling snow over a silent field—the word itself a garment for the idea of being dressed by the world.
Etymology
From Middle English vesture (noun) and vesturen (verb), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French vesteüre, from Vulgar Latin vestītūra (“clothing”), from Latin vestītus, perfect passive participle of vestiō (“to clothe”), from vestis (“garment”).
noun
- A covering of, or like, clothing.e.g.“His broad-brim was placed beside him; his legs were stiffly crossed; his drab vesture was buttoned up to his chin; and spectacles on nose, he seemed absorbed in reading from a ponderous volume.” — 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 16”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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