Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vestry

/ˈvɛstɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.73 in modern English

Syllables: vestry
IPA: /ˈvɛstɹi/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.

noun

An assembly of persons (ad hoc or recurrent) who manage parochial affairs; so called because usually held in a vestry.

noun

A committee of parishioners elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.

Example Sentences

"The choirboys change into their cassocks in the vestry."
"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."
"Near-synonyms: parochial church council, PCC, parish council (ecclesiastical sense, uncommon)"
"The vestry meets on the first Tuesday of every month."

Etymology

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

Inflected Forms

vestries (plural)

Derived Forms

vestrydom vestryism vestryman vestryperson vestrywoman

Phrases

born in the vestry select vestry vestry clerk

Frequently Paired Words

vestibule vestibulum vesture churchwarden

Synonyms

vestiary sacristy parochial church council PCC parish council

Questions

How do you pronounce vestry?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvɛstɹi/.
What does vestry mean?: A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.
Where does vestry come from?: From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary.

How to pronounce vestry

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “vestry”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈvɛstɹi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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