Etymologically
Log in

vestitus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word vestitus

vestitus1 clothed

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
Ultimate origin
Latin (vestis)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [wɛsˈtiː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [vesˈtiː.tus][1]

Forms

vestītus (feminine vestīta, neuter vestītum, comparative vestītior, superlative vestītissimus); first/second-declension adjective[2]

Etymology

The adjective “clothed” is the past participle of vestiō (“to clothe, dress”).[2][3] De Vaan derives ⟨vestiō⟩ from vestis (“clothing”).[4]

Semantic evolution

It has the senses of the verb, especially fully clothed, dressed.[2]

In Medieval Latin the manus vestīta was the “vested hand” of the person receiving land, which would defend it and stood for its possession.[5] It also meant being in possession of something, and a mansus vestītus was a holding occupied and farmed by an invested tenant, as opposed to a vacant one.[5] Of an estate it is furnished, fully equipped.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. clothed, dressed; covered.[2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) manus vestīta: the hand of the person invested with land.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Of a holding, occupied and worked by an invested tenant; of an estate, fully equipped.[5]

vestitus2 clothing

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
204–169 BC, Ennius
Ultimate origin
Latin (vestis)
Etymology tree of vestitus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vestio
Latin vestimentum
French vêtement
Latin vestitus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [wɛsˈtiː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [vesˈtiː.tus][1]

Forms

vestītus m (genitive vestītūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun “clothing” is from Latin vestiō (“to clothe”) + -tus.[2][1] De Vaan lists it under ⟨vestis⟩, which he derives from Proto-Italic *wes-ti- and Proto-Indo-European *ues-ti-, probably a Latin formation from the root of Sanskrit वस्ते (váste, “wears”), Ancient Greek ἕννυμι (hénnumi, “to clothe”) and Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍅𐌰𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (and-wasjan, “to take off”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short cite Ennius, “with this clothing”,[3] and de Vaan and Köbler Plautus,[4][6] where a speaker says “I change my clothing”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is one's dress, also as part of one's keep: in Plautus someone would serve well fed “at your expense and in your clothing”.[2] Vestītum mūtāre was to put on mourning, as people did when friends were in danger, and ad vestītum redīre to put it off again.[2] Cicero transfers it to style, a speech no longer adorned in its usual dress, and to natural coverings such as the green vegetation of riverbanks.[2]

Church Latin has it for clothing, vesture, attire.[7]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius.[3][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of one's clothes.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of mourning dress and of the covering of riverbanks.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. clothing, dress, apparel, attire; one's clothes as part of one's keep.[2][3][1][7]
  2. vestītum mūtāre: to put on mourning;[2] ad vestītum redīre: to put it off.[2]
  3. A natural covering, of vegetation or hair;[2][1] (figurative) the dress of a speech.[2][1]

Usage notes

Döderlein calls vestis the most general word for clothing, sometimes the whole of one's clothes, while vestītus can be a single article of dress, like vestīmentum;[8] vestem mūtāre is to go into mourning, vestīmenta mūtāre merely to change one's clothes.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
Cite this entry

“Vestitus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/vestitus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·