Garment

How to spell garment

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce garment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does garment mean?

1. nounA single item of clothing, such as a shirt, coat, or dress.

Garment in a sentence

• The label inside the garment explained how to wash it.

• Each garment in the boutique was hung on a padded hanger.

Where does garment come from?

Language of origin: French

Garment came into English in the 1300s from the Old French garnement, which meant equipment, provisions, or clothing. That noun was built on the verb garnir, meaning to equip, furnish, or fortify, which is itself of Germanic origin and is the same root that gives us the kitchen word 'garnish'. Over time the broad sense of 'equipment one is fitted out with' narrowed to the specific idea of an article of clothing, since clothes were the most personal way a body was furnished. The 'n' of the French garnement softened and dropped out as the word settled into English spelling, leaving the smoother 'garment' we write today. Knowing the link to garnir and garnish helps explain why the word centres on the 'gar-' beginning rather than any 'guard' spelling.

How the word is built

• garn- (from Old French garnir: to equip, furnish)
• -ment (noun-forming suffix)