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Origin and history of garment

garment(n.)

c. 1400, "any article of clothing," reduced form of garnement (early 14c.), from Old French garnement "garment, attire, clothes" (12c.), from garnir "fit out, provide, adorn," from a Germanic source (compare garnish (v.)), from PIE root *wer- (4) "to cover."

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to garment

garnish(v.)

late 14c., "to decorate, adorn, beautify," also in Middle English "equip (a place) for defense; arm (oneself) for battle; prepare to defend," from Old French garniss-, present-participle stem of garnir "provide, furnish; fortify, reinforce" (11c.), from Frankish *warnjan, from Proto-Germanic *warnon "be cautious, guard, provide for" (source also of Old High German warnon "to take heed," Old English warnian "to take warning, beware;" see warn), from PIE root *wer- (4) "to cover."

Sense evolution is from "arm oneself" to "fit out" to "embellish," which was the earliest meaning in English. Culinary sense of "to decorate a dish for the table" predominated after c. 1700. Older meaning survives in legal sense of "to warn or serve notice of attachment of funds" (1570s). Related: Garnished; garnishing.

undergarment(n.)

"garment made to wear under another garment," 1520s, from under + garment (n.).

*wer-(4)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cover."

It might form all or part of: aperitif; apertive; aperture; barbican; cover; covert; curfew; discover; garage; garment; garnish; garret; garrison; guarantee; guaranty; kerchief; landwehr; operculum; overt; overture; pert; warn; warrant; warrantee; warranty; warren; wat; Wehrmacht; weir.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit vatah "enclosure," vrnoti "covers, wraps, shuts;" Lithuanian užveriu, užverti "to shut, to close;" Old Persian *pari-varaka "protective;" Latin (op)erire "to cover," (ap)erire "open, uncover" (with ap- "off, away"); Old Church Slavonic vora "sealed, closed," vreti "shut;" Old Irish feronn "field," properly "enclosed land;" Old English wer "dam, fence, enclosure," German Wehr "defense, protection," Gothic warjan "to defend, protect."

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    dress
    c. 1300, "make straight; direct, guide, control; prepare for cooking," from Old French dresser, drecier "raise (oneself); address, prepare; lift, raise, hoist; set up, arrange, set (a table), serve (food); straighten, put right, direct," from Vulgar Latin *directiare "make straig
    garb
    "fashion of dress," 1620s, from earlier sense "person's outward demeanor" (c. 1600), originally "elegance, stylishness" (1590s), from French garbe "graceful outline, gracefulness, comeliness" (Modern French galbe) or directly from Italian garbo "grace, elegance, pleasing manners,
    apparel
    late 13c., appareillen, "prepare, make preparations;" late 14c., "to equip, provide with proper clothing; dress or dress up," from Old French apareillier "prepare, make (someone) ready, dress (oneself)," 12c., Modern French appareiller, from Vulgar Latin *appariculare. This is ei
    stole
    Middle English stol, from Old English stole "long garment, robe; scarf-like garment worn around the neck or over the shoulder...of Old French estole, Modern French étole, Spanish estola, Italian stola), from Greek stolē "a long robe;" originally "garment...The meaning "women's long garment of fur or feathers," shaped somewhat like the ecclesiastical stole, is attested from 1889...
    cloth
    or fibers," Old English claþ "a cloth, sail, cloth covering, woven or felted material to wrap around one," hence, also, "garment...," from Proto-Germanic *kalithaz (source also of Old Frisian klath "cloth," Middle Dutch cleet, Dutch kleed "garment, dress...," Middle High German kleit, German Kleid "garment"), which is of obscure origin, perhaps a substratum word....
    gown
    long, loose outer garment, c. 1300, from Old French goune "robe, coat; (nun's) habit, gown," related to Late Latin gunna..."leather garment, skin, hide," of unknown origin....Boniface (8c.) for a fur garment permitted for old or infirm monks....OED points to Byzantine Greek gouna, a word for a coarse garment sometimes made of skins, but also notes "some scholars regard...
    surplice
    from Old French surpeliz (12c.), from Medieval Latin superpellicium (vestmentum) "a surplice," literally "an over fur (garment...)," from Latin super "over" (see super-) + Medieval Latin pellicium "fur garment, tunic of skins," from Latin pellis "skin...
    habit
    early 13c., "characteristic attire of a religious or clerical order," from Old French habit, abit "clothing, (ecclesiastical) habit; conduct" (12c.), from Latin habitus "condition, demeanor, appearance, dress," originally past participle of habere "to have, hold, possess; wear; f
    suit
    c. 1300, sute, also suete, suite, seute, "a band of followers; a retinue, company;" also "set of matching garments" worn by such persons, "matching livery or uniform;" hence "kind, sort; the same kind, a match;" also "pursuit, chase," and in law, "obligation (of a tenant) to atte
    fur
    late 14c. "trimming or lining of a garment" (implied c. 1300 in surname Furhode "fur hood"), probably from Old French forrer, fourrer "cover with fur, line (clothing)," in general "to cover, fill with," from fuerre "sheath, scabbard" (via notion of "covering"), from Frankish *fod

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