Vest definition | Dictionary.com

vest

[vest]

–noun

1.	a close-fitting, waist-length, sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, designed to be worn under a jacket.

2.	a part or trimming simulating the front of such a garment; vestee. Compare dickey ¹ (def. 1).

3.	a waist-length garment worn for protective purposes: a bulletproof vest.

4.	a sleeveless, waist- or hip-length garment made of various materials, with a front opening usually secured by buttons, a zipper, or the like, worn over a shirt, blouse, dress, or other article for style or warmth: a sweater vest; a down vest.

5.	British. an undervest or undershirt.

6.	a long garment resembling a cassock, worn by men in the time of Charles II.

Archaic.

a.	dress; apparel.

b.	an outer garment, robe, or gown.

c.	an ecclesiastical vestment.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to clothe; dress; robe.

9.	to dress in ecclesiastical vestments: to vest a bishop.

10.	to cover or drape (an altar).

11.	to place or settle (something, esp. property, rights, powers, etc.) in the possession or control of someone (usually fol. by in): to vest authority in a new official.

12.	to invest or endow (a person, group, committee, etc.) with something, as powers, functions, or rights: to vest the board with power to increase production; to vest an employee with full benefits in the pension plan.

–verb (used without object)

13.	to put on vestments.

14.	to become vested in a person, as a right.

15.	to devolve upon a person as possessor; pass into possession or ownership.

—Idiom

16.	play it close to the vest, Informal. to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

Origin:
1375–1425; (n.) late ME < It veste robe, dress < L vestis garment; (v.) late ME < MF vestir < L vestīre to clothe, deriv. of vestis; akin to wear

Related forms:

vestless, adjective

vestlike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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vest (věst)

A sleeveless garment, often having buttons down the front, worn usually over a shirt or blouse and sometimes as part of a three-piece suit.
A waist-length, sleeveless garment worn for protection: a warm down vest; a bulletproof vest.
A fabric trim worn to fill in the neckline of a woman's garment; a vestee.
Chiefly British An undershirt.
1. Archaic Clothing; raiment.
2. Obsolete An ecclesiastical vestment.

v. vest·ed, vest·ing, vests

v. tr.

To place (authority, property, or rights, for example) in the control of a person or group, especially to give someone an immediate right to present or future possession or enjoyment of (an estate, for example). Used with in: vested his estate in his daughter.
To invest or endow (a person or group) with something, such as power or rights. Used with with: vested the council with broad powers; vests its employees with full pension rights after five years of service.
To clothe or robe, as in ecclesiastical vestments.

v. intr.

To become legally vested.
To dress oneself, especially in ecclesiastical vestments.

[French veste, robe, from Italian vesta, from Latin vestis, garment; see wes-² in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Vest

Vest\, n. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]

1. An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe.

In state attended by her maiden train, Who bore the vests that holy rites require. --Dryden.

2. Any outer covering; array; garb.

Not seldom clothed in radiant vest Deceitfully goes forth the morn. --Wordsworth.

3. Specifically, a waistcoat, or sleeveless body garment, for men, worn under the coat.

Syn: Garment; vesture; dress; robe; vestment; waistcoat.

Usage: Vest, Waistcoat. In England, the original word waistcoat is generally used for the body garment worn over the shirt and immediately under the coat. In the United States this garment is commonly called a vest, and the waistcoat is often improperly given to an under-garment.

Vest

Vest\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vested; p. pr. & vb. n. Vesting.] [Cf. L. vestire, vestitum, OF. vestir, F. v[^e]tir. See Vest, n.]

1. To clothe with, or as with, a vestment, or garment; to dress; to robe; to cover, surround, or encompass closely.

Came vested all in white, pure as her mind. --Milton.

With ether vested, and a purple sky. --Dryden.

2. To clothe with authority, power, or the like; to put in possession; to invest; to furnish; to endow; -- followed by with before the thing conferred; as, to vest a court with power to try cases of life and death.

Had I been vested with the monarch's power. --Prior.

3. To place or give into the possession or discretion of some person or authority; to commit to another; -- with in before the possessor; as, the power of life and death is vested in the king, or in the courts.

Empire and dominion was [were] vested in him. --Locke.

4. To invest; to put; as, to vest money in goods, land, or houses. [R.]

5. (Law) To clothe with possession; as, to vest a person with an estate; also, to give a person an immediate fixed right of present or future enjoyment of; as, an estate is vested in possession. --Bouvier.

Vest

Vest\, v. i. To come or descend; to be fixed; to take effect, as a title or right; -- followed by in; as, upon the death of the ancestor, the estate, or the right to the estate, vests in the heir at law.

Language Translation for : Vest

Spanish: camiseta,

German: das Unterhemd,

Japanese: 肌着

More Translations »

vest (v.)

c.1425, "to put in possession of a person," from M.Fr. vestir, from M.L. vestire "to put into possession, to invest," from L. vestire "to clothe," related to vestis "garment, clothing," from PIE *wes- "to clothe" (see wear). Vested "established, secured, settled" is attested from 1766.

vest (n.)

1613, "loose outer garment" (worn by men in Eastern countries or in ancient times), from Fr. veste, from It. vesta, veste "robe, gown," from L. vestis, from vestire "to clothe" (see vest (v.)). The sleeveless garment worn by men beneath the coat was introduced by Charles II.

"The King hath yesterday, in Council, declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes .... It will be a vest, I know not well how; but it is to teach the nobility thrift." [Pepys, "Diary," Oct. 8, 1666]

Main Entry: vest
Function: verb
Etymology: Anglo-French vestir, literally, to clothe, from Old French, from Latin vestire
transitive verb 1 a : to place in the possession, discretion, or province of some person or authority vested in a Congress of the United States —U.S. Constitution article I> vests jurisdiction in the appeals court>; specifically : to give to a person a fixed and immediate right of present or future enjoyment of (as an estate) vested in the beneficiary> b : to grant or endow with a particular authority, right, or property <vest a judge with discretion> intransitive verb : to become vested; specifically : to entitle one unconditionally to the payment of pension benefits upon termination or retirement vest after ten years with the company> —compare MATURE

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