Garb Once Meant Elegance, Not Clothing
Garb is clothing, especially of a distinctive kind. The Italian word meant grace and style.
Garb is clothing, particularly of a distinctive or characteristic kind. Italian *garbo* meant grace, elegance or good style, and the word entered English in the 1500s meaning manner or bearing rather than dress. Only later did it narrow to the clothes themselves, which is a common drift — *habit* did exactly the same. Today *garb* usually implies something notable or costume-like: priestly garb, ceremonial garb, never simply clothes.
- Distinctive clothing. *Ceremonial garb.*
- Grace (archaic). *Garbo.*
- To clothe. *Garbed in black.*
- Habit — the same drift. *A habit.*
- Italian — *garbo*, elegance. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | garb | Garb. |
| Verb | garb | Garbed. |
| Adjective | garbed | Garbed. |
| Italian | garbo | Grace. |
| Related | habit | A habit. |
- He arrived in formal garb.Clothing.
- Garbo meant elegance.Etymology.
- Garbed entirely in white.Verb.
Words that moved from manner to dress
- Garb — from grace and bearing to clothing
- Habit — from a settled manner to a monk's robe
- Fashion — from a way of making to a style of dress
- Attire — from preparing to what one is dressed in
- Costume — from custom, hence what is customarily worn
Italian *garbo*, grace or elegance, through French, entering English in the 1500s.
Did garb always mean clothes?
No. It meant grace, style or bearing. The narrowing to dress came later, the same drift that affected habit.
Why is a monk's robe called a habit?
From Latin habitus, a condition or settled manner. The word for how someone was moved to what they wore.