n.
- A long loose flowing garment, such as a robe or nightgown.
- A long, usually formal dress for a woman.
- A robe or smock worn in operating rooms and other parts of hospitals as a guard against contamination.
- A distinctive outer robe worn on ceremonial occasions, as by scholars or clerics.
- The faculty and student body of a university: perfect accord between town and gown.
v., gowned, gown·ing, gowns. v.tr.
To clothe (oneself or another) with a gown.
v.intr.
To dress in a gown.
[Middle English goune, from Old French, from Late Latin gunna, leather garment.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
