Join free

robe

English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Português · Română · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

robe¹

  • /ɹəʊb/ UK
  • /ɹoʊb/ US

Rhymes with -əʊb

Where it comes from

From Middle English robe, roobe, from Old French robe, robbe, reube (“booty, spoils of war, robe, garment”), from Frankish *rouba, *rauba (“booty, spoils, stolen clothes”, literally “things taken”), from Proto-Germanic *raubō, *raubaz, *raubą (“booty, that which is stripped or carried away”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- (“to tear, peel”).

cognates and related terms

Akin to Old High German roup (“booty”) (Modern German Raub (“robbery, spoils”)), Old High German roubōn (“to rob, steal”) (Modern German rauben (“to rob”)), Old English rēaf (“spoils, booty, dress, armour, robe, garment”), Old English rēafian (“to steal, deprive”). Cognate with Spanish ropa (“clothing, clothes”). More at rob, reaf, reave.

noun robes

  1. A long loose outer garment, often signifying honorary stature. Through tattered clothes small vices do appear; / Robes and furred gowns hide all.
  2. US The skin of an animal, especially the bison, dressed with the fur on, and used as a wrap.
  3. A wardrobe, especially one built into a bedroom.
  4. The largest and strongest tobacco leaves.

verb robes · robing · robed

  1. transitive To clothe; to dress. robed in glory

    Similar: dight

  2. intransitive To put on official vestments.

Similar: don, put on

Robe²

proper noun

  1. A surname.
  2. A town and local government area (the District Council of Robe) on the Limestone Coast of South Australia, named after Frederick Robe.
  3. An unincorporated community in Snohomish County, Washington, United States, named after a pioneer.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: gown, vest, pall, apparel, nightgown, garment, clothing, toga, jacket, peignoir, frock, cloak, coat, blouse, tunic, skirt

verb

Similar: don, put on

Translations

Every language

noun long, loose outer garment

Españolbata, hábito, boatiné, guatiné, salto de cama, déshabillé (desabiié)
中文礼袍, 长袍 chángpáo
Portuguêsmanto
Françaisrobe
DeutschRobe
Italianoveste, abito, toga
Românăhalat
Русскийхала́т xalát, ма́нтия mántija
עבריתחלוק chalúk

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"robe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/robe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

robe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/robe

Chicago

"robe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/robe.

BibTeX
@misc{robe_2026,
  title = {robe},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/robe},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}