What is "gown"

Gown \Gown\, n. [OE. goune, prob. from W. gwn gown, loose robe, akin to Ir. gunn, Gael. g[`u]n; cf. OF. gone, prob. of the same origin.]

1. A loose, flowing upper garment; especially:

   1. The ordinary outer dress of a woman; as, a calico or silk gown.

   2. The official robe of certain professional men and scholars, as university students and officers, barristers, judges, etc.; hence, the dress of peace; the dress of civil officers, in distinction from military.

      He Mars deposed, and arms to gowns made yield.
      --Dryden.

   3. A loose wrapper worn by gentlemen within doors; a dressing gown.

2. Any sort of dress or garb.

   He comes . . . in the gown of humility.
   --Shak.

c.1300, from Old French goune "robe, coat, habit, gown," from Late Latin gunna "leather garment, skin, hide," of unknown origin. Used by St. Boniface (8c.) for a fur garment permitted for old or infirm monks. Klein writes it is probably "a word adopted from a language of the Apennine or the Balkan Peninsul

1. " OED points to Byzantine Greek gouna, a word for a coarse garment sometimes made of skins, but also notes "some scholars regard [Late Latin gunna] as of Celtic origin."\n
   
   \nIn 18c., gown was the common word for what is now usually styled a dress. It was maintained more in the U.S. than in Britain, but was somewhat revived 20c. in fashion senses and in com

2. forms (such as bridal gown, nightgown). Meaning "flowing robe worn as a badge of office or authority" is from late 14

3. , on image of the Roman toga. As collective singular for "residents of a university" (1650s) it usually now is opposed to town.

n. 1 A loose, flowing upper garment. 2 A woman's ordinary outer dress, such as a calico or silk gown. 3 The official robe of certain professional men and scholars, such as university students and officers, barristers, judges, etc. 4 # The dress of civil officers, as opposed to military officers. 5 (context by metonymy English) The university community. 6 A loose wrapper worn by gentlemen within doors; a dressing gown. 7 Any sort of dress or garb. 8 The robe worn by a surgeon. vb. To dress in a gown, to don or garb with a gown.

1. n. long, usually formal, woman's dress

2. protective garment worn by surgeons during operations [syn: surgical gown, scrubs]

3. outerwear consisting of a long flowing garment used for official or ceremonial occasions [syn: robe]

4. v. dress in a gown

A gown is a loose outer garment by men and women from the early Middle Ages to the seventeenth century, or any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.

Gown may also refer to:

• Evening gown, women's formal attire
• Dressing gown, British term for a bathrobe
• The Gown, a Belfast-based student newspaper
• Cap and gown
• Wedding gown
• Hospital gown
• Gowning, putting on a cleanroom suit
• GOWNS, folk/noise band from California

A gown, from medieval Latin gunna, is a usually loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, gown was applied to any full-length woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt. A long, loosely fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th century as an informal coat.

The gowns worn today by academics, judges, and some clergy derive directly from the everyday garments worn by their medieval predecessors, formalized into a uniform in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.