alb

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English albe,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Medieval Latin alba,^[2][3][4][6] short for tunica alba or vestis alba (“white garment”),^[6][7][8] using the feminine of Latin albus (“white”).^[6][2][9] In later use it comes partly also from Anglo-Norman albe and Old French aube,^[6][10] and Barnhart notes that aube was the usual spelling in English in the 14th and early 15th centuries.^[4] De Vaan reconstructs the Latin adjective as Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰ-o- (“white”),^[11] with cognates such as Ancient Greek ἀλφός (alphós, “dull-white leprosy”),^[11][4] Old High German albiz (“swan”)^[7][4] and Old English elfet (“swan”).^[7] Latin albus survives in Romanian alb (“white”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A white vestment reaching to the feet, worn by clergy: in Old English rubrics and directions for services, before 1100.^[6][4] Bosworth-Toller quotes it as a gloss on alba.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense from Old English on.^[6] Post-classical Latin used alba for a white liturgical or baptismal garment from the 6th century, and the Vulgate already used it for a white garment.^[6] Middle English also used it for the Greek poderis and the Hebrew ephod, and the Ayenbite of Inwit (1340) treats the alb and its girdle as signs of chastity.^[10] Johnson (1755) glossed it "a surplice; a white linen vestment worn by priests".^[12] Merriam-Webster notes that it is now uniformly white in the Western churches but may be of various colours in the Eastern.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1100 – Old English albe, a white vestment worn at church services.^[6][4]
• 1340 – the spelling aube, in the Ayenbite of Inwit.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A long white linen vestment with close sleeves, worn by priests and others taking part in church services, usually gathered at the waist with a cincture.^[13][3][6]

Related words

• album
• albumin
• Albion
• elf

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
11. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins