vestry

V4E1S1T1R1Y4
/ˈvɛstɹi/

noun

A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.

“The vestry meets on the first Tuesday of every month.”

Similar
vestiarysacristyparochial church councilPCCparish council
OriginAnglo-Norman vesterie ← Old French vestiaire ← Latin vestiarium →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounvestry (plural vestries)

plural vestries

  1. A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.

    The choirboys change into their cassocks in the vestry.

    1 more example

    What a day, eh? Demmy, it's like the commencement of the rainy season in Bengal. But you'll find my carriage is watertight. Come along, my mother and Emmy are in the vestry.

    1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

    Synonyms: vestiary, sacristy

  2. An assembly of persons (ad hoc or recurrent) who manage parochial affairs; so called because usually held in a vestry.
  3. A committee of parishioners elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.

    The vestry meets on the first Tuesday of every month.

    1 more example

    Near-synonyms: parochial church council, PCC, parish council (ecclesiastical sense, uncommon)

    Synonyms: parochial church council, PCC, parish council

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.

Similar
vestiarysacristy

nounA committee of parishioners elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.

Similar
parochial church councilPCCparish council

More synonyms by meaning

nouna room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept or meetings are held

Similar
sacristy
Broader
room
Also see
parish councilparochial church councilrevestiarysacristyvestiary

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinvestiarium“wardrobe”
  2. Old Frenchvestiaire“room for vestments, dressing room”
  3. Anglo-Normanvesterie
  4. Englishvestry

From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary.

More words from Anglo-Norman, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian ри́зница, сакристия
  • ри́зница (ríznica)room in a church
  • сакристия (sakristija)room in a church
  • черковно настоятелство (čerkovno nastojatelstvo)committee of parishioners
Danish sakristi
  • sakristiroom in a church
Dutch sacristie
  • sacristieroom in a church
Finnish sakaristo, kirkkoneuvosto
  • sakaristoroom in a church
  • kirkkoneuvostocommittee of parishioners
French sacristie
  • sacristieroom in a church
German Sakristei
  • Sakristeiroom in a church
Greek αποδυτήριο
  • αποδυτήριο (apodytírio)room in a church
Latin sacristia
  • sacristiaroom in a church
Māori wēteri
  • wētericommittee of parishioners
Persian رختکن
  • رختکنroom in a church
Polish zakrystia, rada parafialna
  • zakrystiaroom in a church
  • rada parafialnacommittee of parishioners
Russian ри́зница, сакристия
  • ри́зница (ríznica)room in a church
  • сакристия (sakristija)room in a church
  • приходское управле́ние (prixodskoje upravlénije)committee of parishioners
Scottish Gaelic seòmar-culaidh
  • seòmar-culaidhroom in a church
Swedish sakristia
  • sakristiaroom in a church
Cite this entry
APA

vestry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vestry

MLA

“vestry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vestry. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vestry,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vestry.

Source: vestry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.