Robe
nounA long, loose outer garment, worn for comfort, bathing, or as a mark of office or ceremony.
How to spell robe
4 letters · 1 syllable
How to pronounce robe
What does robe mean?
- nounA long, loose outer garment, worn for comfort, bathing, or as a mark of office or ceremony.
- verbTo dress someone or oneself in a robe or other long garment.
Robe in a sentence
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noun
After her shower she wrapped herself in a warm robe.
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verb
The attendants would robe the king before the coronation.
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noun
The judge entered the courtroom in a black robe.
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verb
The priests robe themselves carefully before the service.
Where does robe come from?
Language of origin: French
The word came into English in the early 1300s from the Old French robe, which meant a long garment or gown. The surprising twist is that the same French word also meant 'spoils' or 'booty', because in Germanic tradition the clothing stripped from a defeated enemy counted as plunder. That root traces back to a Germanic source related to the verb meaning 'to rob' or 'to steal', which is why robe and rob share an ancestor. Over time the violent sense fell away and robe settled into describing a fine, loose, flowing garment, especially one worn for ceremony, office, or comfort. The simple silent final 'e' that lengthens the vowel is the only spelling point, and the link to the everyday word 'rob' is a handy memory anchor.
How the word is built
- robe (from Old French robe: a garment, originally plundered clothing)
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