Garb
/ɡɑːrb/noun
Clothing, dress, or outward appearance.
Did you know?English got garb through French from a Germanic root that originally meant something like “to arrange” or “to prepare,” showing how dress was once about putting yourself into a chosen form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*garbōną
“to arrange, prepare”
Old French
OF
garber
“to arrange, gather in sheaves”
Middle English
ME
garbe
“dress, attire; style of dress”
16th Century
English
garb
“dress or attire, especially distinctive or characteristic dress”
Modern English
English
garb
“clothing or dress”