Vestry

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvɛstɹi/

Definitions

1. A room in a church where clergy put on their robes and sacred vessels are stored
2. A room within a place of worship designated for the clergy to prepare for services while also serving as a storage area for liturgical items and vestments
3. An area in a religious building where ministers can change attire and keep sacred objects, aiding in the preparation for worship

Etymology: The room where a church keeps its vestments and sacred vessels has a name that began as a plain wardrobe. Latin "vestiarium" meant a clothes chest or wardrobe, built from "vestis", "garment". The idea passed through Old French "vestiaire", a room for dressing or for storing robes, and reached English through Anglo-Norman "vesterie", which carried the sense of a place where garments were kept. Over time the word narrowed. In English it came to mean the sacristy or clothing room of a church, and later the parish meeting held in such a room. The "vestry" that governed parish affairs in England took its name from the place where the meetings were held, so a word for a cupboard of robes eventually came to name a body of local officials. The word "vestiary" is its doublet: the same Latin source entered English by a different, more learned route, and it survives mainly in technical or literary contexts.

Synonyms: sacristy, church room, meeting room