CARACALLA, in antiquity, a long garment, having a sort of capuchin, or hood a-top, and reaching to the heels; worn equally among the Romans by the men and the women, in the city and the camp. Spartan and Xiphilian represent the emperor Caracalla as the inventor of this garment, and hence suppose the appellation Caracalla was first given him. Others, with more probability, make the caracalla originally a Gallic habit, and only brought to Rome by the emperor above mentioned, who first enjoined the soldiery to wear it. The people call it antoninian, from the same prince, who had borrowed the name of Antoninus. The caracalla was a sort of cassock, or surcoat. Salmasius, Scaliger, and after them Du Cange, even take the name casaque to have been formed from that of caraque, for caracalla. This is certain from St Jerome, that the caracalla, with a retrenchment of the capuchin, became an ecclesiastical garment. It is described as made of several pieces cut and sewed together, and hanging down to the feet; but it is more than probable there were some made shorter, especially out of Rome, otherwise we do not see how it could have fitted the soldiers purposes.