Meanings
plural tunicles
- obsoleteA small tunic.
- A vestment worn by a subdeacon at celebrations of the Eucharist.
He longed for the minor sacred offices, to be vested with the tunicle of subdeacon at high mass […].
1916, James Joyce, chapter IV, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.: B[enjamin] W. Huebsch, →OCLC1 more example
In illustrating his views on the Popish tendency of these rubrics, the rev. gentleman particularly referred to the use of the alb, and cope, and tunicle, by the clergy in the discharge of their official duties.
1845 January 11, The Times, p.5 col. D
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latintunicula
- Englishtunicle
Borrowed from Latin tunicula, diminutive of tunica (“tunic”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tunicle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunicle
“tunicle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunicle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tunicle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunicle.
Source: tunicle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.