Dictionary

vestry en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈvɛstɹi/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary.

Meanings

1. A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.
   • What a day, eh? Demmy, it's like the commencement of the rainy season in Bengal. But you'll find my carriage is watertight. Come along, my mother and Emmy are in the vestry. 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
   • The choirboys change into their cassocks in the vestry.
2. An assembly of persons (ad hoc or recurrent) who manage parochial affairs; so called because usually held in a vestry.
3. A committee of parishioners elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.
   • Near-synonyms: parochial church council, PCC, parish council (ecclesiastical sense, uncommon)
   • The vestry meets on the first Tuesday of every month.

Forms

Deriveds

vestryism · vestryperson · vestrydom · select vestry · born in the vestry · vestry clerk · vestryman · vestrywoman

Relateds

churchwarden · vestibule · vestibulum · vesture

Synonyms

parish council · vestiary · PCC · parochial church council · sacristy

Translations (28)

da sakristi (room in a church) · ka მრევლის კრება (committee of parishioners) · mk сакри́стија (room in a church) · la sacristia (room in a church) · ru приходское управле́ние (committee of parishioners) · pl zakrystia (room in a church) · fa رختکن (room in a church) · el αποδυτήριο (room in a church) · de Sakristei (room in a church) · fi kirkkoneuvosto (committee of parishioners) · mk ѓа́коник (room in a church) · fr sacristie (room in a church) · nl sacristie (room in a church) · mk ри́зница (room in a church) · ka საცავი (room in a church) · ka სალარო (room in a church) · mi wēteri (committee of parishioners) · gd seòmar-culaidh (room in a church) · sv sakristia (room in a church) · zlw-ocs obláčěnicě (room in a church) · bg черковно настоятелство (committee of parishioners) · pl rada parafialna (committee of parishioners) · bg ри́зница (room in a church) · ru ри́зница (room in a church) · mk паро́хиска у́права (committee of parishioners) · ru сакристия (room in a church) · bg сакристия (room in a church) · fi sakaristo (room in a church)