gown

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈɡæʊ̯n/ UK /ˈɡaʊ̯n/ See IPA manual

Freq #6755

Meanings

1

noun
A woman's long, formal dress, often worn on special occasions.

She wore a beautiful silk gown to the wedding.
2

noun
A long, loose robe worn for official or ceremonial reasons, such as by judges, students, or graduates.

The students wore black gowns at the graduation ceremony.
3

noun
A loose protective garment worn in hospitals by surgeons or patients.

The surgeon put on a clean gown before the operation.
4

verb
To dress someone in a gown.

The patient was gowned and prepared for surgery.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a long, loose robe worn for... robe

3 noun · a loose protective garment... surgical gown

Word family

Forms gownedgowninggowns

Derived forms ballgownbedgownbegownbegownedbluegowndisgowndressing-gownfire-gowngowniegownlessgownletgownlike

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

bridal gown
a formal dress worn by a bride for her wedding

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Gown comes from Old French goune, ultimately from late Latin gunna, meaning “fur garment.” It originally referred to an outer robe or coat.

Etymology

From Middle English gowne, from Anglo-Norman goune, gune (“fur-trimmed coat, pelisse”), from Old French goune, from Late Latin gunna (“leather garment, a fur”). Cognate with Manx gooyn, Irish gúna.

gowne Middle English goune Old French gunna la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Register & Style

External links

# gown

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡæʊ̯n/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡaʊ̯n/
**Frequency rank:** 6755

## Meanings
1. A woman's long, formal dress, often worn on special occasions.
2. A long, loose robe worn for official or ceremonial reasons, such as by judges, students, or graduates.
3. A loose protective garment worn in hospitals by surgeons or patients.
4. To dress someone in a gown.

## Examples
- She wore a beautiful silk gown to the wedding.
- The students wore black gowns at the graduation ceremony.
- The surgeon put on a clean gown before the operation.
- The patient was gowned and prepared for surgery.

## Derived Forms
- ballgown
- bedgown
- begown
- begowned
- bluegown
- disgown
- dressing-gown
- fire-gown
- gownie
- gownless
- gownlet
- gownlike

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gowne
- Root: goune
- Root: gunna

## Etymology
From Middle English gowne, from Anglo-Norman goune, gune (“fur-trimmed coat, pelisse”), from Old French goune, from Late Latin gunna (“leather garment, a fur”). Cognate with Manx gooyn, Irish gúna.

## AI Etymology
Gown comes from Middle English gowne, from Anglo-Norman goune, gune (“fur-trimmed coat, pelisse”), from Old French goune, from Late Latin gunna (“leather garment, a fur”). Cognate with Manx gooyn, Irish gúna. In current use, the main senses are “A woman's long, formal dress, often worn on special occasions” and “A long, loose robe worn for official or ceremonial reasons, such as by judges, students, or graduates”.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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