dalmatic

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a long, loose, wide-sleeved liturgical vestment worn especially by a deacon at Mass or the Eucharist

   The deacon wore a richly embroidered dalmatic for the feast-day service.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a wide-sleeved tunic or robe derived from clothing associated with Dalmatia and later adopted at imperial courts

   The mosaic shows the ruler in a purple dalmatic beneath his mantle.

From Old French dalmatique and Ecclesiastical Latin dalmatica, short for dalmatica vestis, 'Dalmatian garment.' A late Roman wide-sleeved tunic became an imperial robe and then a distinctive Christian liturgical vestment, especially for deacons.

Topics