cassock

noun

cas·​sock ˈka-sək 

: a close-fitting ankle-length garment worn especially in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches by the clergy and by laypersons assisting in services

Illustration of cassock

Examples of cassock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On May 30, 2023, when no one was at the church, security cameras caught an unlikely scene: Lucas, in full dark cassock, showed up in broad daylight, accompanied by a locksmith who changed the locks on the church doors and mailbox. —Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2025

Pius stands facing the camera in a white cassock, two fingers of his right hand raised in benediction, his gaze penetrating and implacable. —Cullen Murphy, airmail.news, 15 Feb. 2025

That is also evident in the memoir – for instance, when the pope explains how he was told to wear white trousers, rather than black, to go under his new white papal cassock. —Christopher Lamb, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025

Theology gathers its cassock skirts and anxiously casts Simon out as a magician or a sorcerer. —James Wood, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French casaque

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cassock

• classic
• boracic
• jurassic
• postclassic
• potassic
• preclassic
• thoracic
• cardiothoracic
• intrathoracic
• prothoracic
• transthoracic

Kids Definition

cassock

noun

cas·​sock ˈkas-ək 

: a close-fitting ankle-length garment worn by clergy (as in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches)