Albs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to white clerical garments worn by priests during religious ceremonies
2. Designating a type of liturgical vestment characterized by a long, flowing cut and often made of lightweight fabric
3. Describing a garment traditionally worn by ministers and altar servers, symbolizing purity and new life

Etymology: The garment's name is a Latin word for whiteness in disguise. "Alba" is the feminine form of the Latin adjective "albus," meaning "white," and it was used to name the long white linen tunic that clergy wore at Mass. The Latin phrase was "vestis alba," or "white garment," and the noun was eventually shortened to "alba" on its own. English received the word in Old English-era forms like "awbe," "albe," and "abbe," which came from Late Latin. Those early spellings show how the word wore down in speech before settling into the form used today. Later English borrowings from Latin reinforced it, so the modern spelling reflects a mix of inherited and borrowed pathways rather than one clean route.

Synonyms: robes, vestments