🇺🇸
/ˈæl.bə/
🇺🇸
/ˈæl.bə/
🇬🇧
/ˈæl.bə/
🇬🇧
/ˈæl.bə/
Plural
albes
An albe is a long, white, sleeveless linen robe worn by clergy during Christian worship services—especially in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some Lutheran traditions. Think of it as the foundational white garment symbolizing purity and baptismal grace, usually worn under other vestments like the stole or chasuble.
The priest slipped on his albe before processing into the sanctuary.
In medieval manuscripts, bishops are often depicted wearing richly embroidered albes.
Liturgical guidelines specify that the albe must be fully buttoned and worn with a cincture.
She carefully folded the delicate linen albe after Sunday Mass.
The museum displayed a 16th-century Flemish albe with hand-stitched lace trim.
alb-
Comes from the Latin adjective 'albus', meaning 'white'. It originates from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós ('white, pale'). This root conveys whiteness, purity, or lightness. Examples include alb (the garment itself), albedo (reflectivity of a surface, especially astronomical bodies), albumen (the white part of an egg), and albatross (named for its white plumage).