🇺🇸
/ælbz/
🇺🇸
/ælbz/
🇬🇧
/ˈælbz/
🇬🇧
/ˈælbz/
Plural
albs
Albs are long, white, sleeveless liturgical robes worn by clergy and altar servers in Christian worship—especially in Catholic, Anglican, and some Lutheran traditions. Think of them as the classic 'white robe of purity' symbolizing baptismal innocence and sacred service.
The deacon slipped on his alb before processing into the sanctuary.
All altar servers wore matching linen albs during the Easter Vigil.
In medieval manuscripts, priests are often depicted wearing ornate albs with embroidered orphreys.
She carefully folded the alb after Vespers and hung it in the sacristy.
The bishop's alb was made of fine Belgian flax, pure white and slightly translucent.
alb
Comes from the Latin noun 'albus', meaning 'white'. It entered English via Old French 'albe' (a white liturgical vestment), retaining its core semantic link to whiteness and purity. Examples include alb, albedo (the reflectivity of a surface, from Latin 'albus'), albumen (the white part of an egg), and albino (a person or animal with congenital absence of pigment). Core meaning: 'white'.