Etymograph

English

vestiary

Vestiary comes from Latin vestiarium ‘vestry’, from vestis ‘clothing’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wes- ‘to be dressed’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-1‘to be dressed’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéstis1‘the act of dressing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*westis1‘clothing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvestis2‘clothing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvestiarium2‘vestry’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vestiarie2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1829vestiary2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vestis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vestiary
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Walter Scott, Anne of Geierstein; or: “Here a novice appeared from the vestiary of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-Wiktionary, Latin vestis‘to be dressed’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéstisWiktionary, Latin vestis‘the act of dressing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*westisWiktionary, Latin vestis‘clothing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvestisWiktionary, English vestiary‘clothing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvestiariumWiktionary, English vestiary‘vestry’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vestiarieWiktionary, English vestiary
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1829vestiaryWiktionary, English vestiary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Walter Scott, Anne of Geierstein; or: “Here a novice appeared from the vestiary of the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wes- ‘to be dressed’

wear, bison, venal, basmati, vend, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *westis ‘clothing’

investiture, 11 more

through Latin vestis ‘clothing’

invest, travesty, divest, 12 more

through Latin vestiarium ‘vestry’

vestry, 1 more

Another origin of vestiary

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-‘to be dressed’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéstis‘the act of dressing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*westis‘clothing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvestis
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvestiarius‘person taking care of a vestiarium – cloakroom in monastery’
  6. Englishtodayvestiary

Today it means

noun A dressing room or storeroom for clothes, especially in a church or other religious house.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vestiary”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vestis. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wes- / vestiary

Shirt and support for this word