Vesturer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person engaged in clothing another, particularly in rituals or ceremonial occasions
2. An individual who outfits others, often in significant or traditional contexts
3. A person responsible for dressing others, particularly during formal events or ceremonies

Etymology: "Vesturer" is a plain formation: it takes "vesture," a word for clothing or the garments worn in a ceremony, and adds the agent suffix "-er," so the term names the person whose job is dressing others for a rite. The suffix does the same work in "baker" or "singer," and "vesture" itself reaches English from Old French, where it was tied to the idea of clothing and dress. The role is most at home in churches and cathedrals, where the vesturer looked after the vestments that clergy and choirs put on for services. Because such garments were elaborate and carefully kept, the job involved both handling the robes and managing the ceremonial clothing as a whole. The title shows how closely English tied the sacred and the sartorial: a single word for clothes gave rise to a precise name for the official who put them on people.

Synonyms: dresser