long robe

noun

The legal profession.

OriginMiddle French robe longue →
First used 16th c.
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Meanings

nounlong robe (uncountable)
  1. archaicuncountablewith definite articleThe legal profession.First known use 16th c.

    [H]e contracted intimacies in some families of good fashion, especially those of the long robe, which would have enabled him to pass his time very agreeably, had he been a little easier in point of fortune […].

    1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    I once saw two brothers of the long robe involuntarily stop and heartily enjoy the dialogue of that merry little fellow with Jack Ketch, who was about to hang Punch for the murder of his wife and his innocent babe.

    1828, JT Smith, Nollekens and His Times, Century Hutchinson, published 1986, page 150

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchrobe longue
  2. Englishlong robe

From long + robe, after Middle French robe longue.

More words from Middle French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

long robe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/long%20robe

MLA

“long robe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/long%20robe. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “long robe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/long%20robe.

Source: long robe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.