Gown

Gown

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.

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Famous quotes containing the word gown:

    Find out the peaceful hermitage,
    The hairy gown and mossy cell,
    Where I may sit and rightly spell
    Of every star that heaven doth show,
    And every herb that sips the dew;
    Till old experience do attain
    To something like prophetic strain.
    These pleasures Melancholy give,
    And I with thee will choose to live.
    John Milton (1608–1674)

    Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,
    My staff of faith to walk upon,
    My scrip of joy, immortal diet,
    My bottle of salvation,
    My gown of glory, hope’s true gage,
    And thus I’ll take my pilgrimage.
    Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)

    We are the creatures of imagination, passion, and self- will, more than of reason or even of self-interest.... Even in the common transactions and daily intercourse of life, we are governed by whim, caprice, prejudice, or accident. The falling of a teacup puts us out of temper for the day; and a quarrel that commenced about the pattern of a gown may end only with our lives.
    William Hazlitt (1778–1830)