Raiments

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Clothing or garments worn for various occasions or purposes
2. The articles of apparel that adorn the body, often reflecting style or status
3. Ornate or elegant attire, often used in literary or poetic contexts to signify beauty or formality

Etymology: "Raiments" is the plural of "raiment", and it is a word that has been shortened from something longer. Middle English had "arayment", a word that passed into English from Anglo-Norman "arraiement" and Old French "areement". Those French forms come from the verb "areer", meaning "to array", which is also the source of the English word "array". English speakers gradually dropped the initial "a-" sound, leaving "rayment" and then "raiment", so the word that now sounds like a plain noun for clothing still carries the idea of arranging or equipping someone in a set of garments. The plural "raiments" is the form of "raiment" used for several garments or sets of clothing, and it keeps the same literary, dressed-up tone as its singular.

Synonyms: clothes, garments, attire, apparel, vestments

Antonyms: nudity