Robe, a long upper garment, worn by lawyers, divines, and other graduates; who are hence called men of the gown, or gownmen.

The gown is an ample sort of garment, worn over the ordinary clothes, hanging down to the feet.—It is fashioned differently for ecclesiastics and for laymen.

At Rome they gave the name "virile gown," toga virilis, to a plain kind of gown which their youth assumed when arrived at puberty. This they particularly denominated praetexta. See TOGA, PRÆTEXTA, &c.

"The remarkable dress of our British ancestors History of (Mr Whitaker observes), which continued very nearly Man- the fame to the commencement of the last century chefer, among the natives of Ireland, and has actually descend- ed to the present among the mountaineers of Scotland, and is therefore rendered very familiar to our ideas, carried in it an astonishing appearance to the Romans. And it seems to have been equally the dress of the men and women among the nobles of Britain. But in a few years after the erection of the Roman British towns in the north, and in the progress of refinement among them, this ancient habit began to be disfrequented by the chiefs of the cities, and looked upon as the badge of ancient barbarism. And the growing prejudices were soon so greatly improved, that within 20 years only after the construction of the towns, the British sagum was actually resigned, and the Roman toga or gown assumed by many of them.

"The gown, however, never became universal in Britain: and it seems to have been adopted only by the barons of the cities and the officers of the crown; and has therefore been transmitted to us as the robe of reverence, the ensign of literature, and the mantle of magnificacy. The woollen and plaided garments of the chiefs having naturally superseeded the leathern vesture of their clients, the former were still wore by the generality of the Britons; and they were retained by the gentlemen of the country, and by the commonalty both in country and city. That this was the case, appears evident from the correspondent conduct of the Gauls and Britons; who kept their Virgata Sagula to the last, and communicated them to the Franks and Saxons. The plaided drapery of the Britons still appeared general in the streets of Manchester; and must have formed a striking contrast to the gown of the chief, the dark mantle of Italy: and it and the ornamented buttons on the shoulder are preferred among us even to the present moment, in the parti-coloured clothing and the tasseled shoulder knots of our footmen."

In some universities physicians wear a scarlet gown. In the Sorbonne, the doctors were always in gowns and caps. Beadles, &c. wear gowns of two or more colours.

Among the French officers, &c. they distinguish those of the short gown or robe; which are such as have not been regularly examined. They have also barbers of the short gown, who are such as are obliged to practise in an inferior way to those of the long robe.

Gown is also taken in the general for civil magistrature, or the profession opposite to that of arms. In this sense it was that Cicero said cedant arma toga.