This is April’s free post one week early because I need to take next week off — and no, this isn’t an early April Fool’s Day joke. I’ll return with a post for paying subscribers on April 8th, but I’ve made this post extra long for my paying subscribers’ benefit.
Let’s begin with the cognate duo.
vestural — an adjective meaning “of or relating to clothing or vesture”
vestural — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning.
I begin with that duo because they are spelled exactly the same, and I’m hoping they will help you see the connections I’m going to point out in the rest of this post.
In the English meaning, you see the word “vesture.” Did you know that “vesture” as a noun simply means “clothing?” Or that as a verb it simply means “to clothe?” Many people do not. If they know the word at all, they equate it with a robe or vestment worn by a priest, but “vesture” is also any clothing. Or it’s the act of clothing oneself. I prefer to vesture myself in comfy vesture.
“Vesture” as a noun in Spanish is “vestidura.” As a verb, it is “vestir” or “vestirse.”
These words and all their cognates come from Latin’s vestire which means “to clothe” and vestis which means “clothing” or “garment.”
Whether you know this or not, the word “vest” can be a verb, and in one sense of it as a verb, “vest” means “to clothe with or as with a garment.” As a noun, one meaning of “vest” is “vesture, clothing, garb,” but most people think of it as what it is more commonly used for — to refer to a type of clothing that men wear over a shirt.
Oddly enough, despite so many cognates surrounding the words that come from Latin’s vestire, the type of “vest” pictured in the above photo in Spanish is “chaleco.” Clearly, not a cognate.
Let’s get back to the two Spanish verbs “vestir” and “vestirse.” These would be translated to English as “to clothe” and “to clothe oneself.” Essentially, with the first, you are putting clothing on someone or something else, like a child or someone who isn’t able to dress himself. With the second, you are putting the clothing onto yourself. It’s what is called a reflexive verb — the action reflects back upon the subject who is doing it, and that ending “se” changes to indicate who is receiving the action.
Examples:
“I dress the children” is “Yo visto a los niños.”
“I get dressed” is “Yo me visto.”
“The children dress their dolls.” is “Los niños visten sus muñecas.”
“The children dress themselves (or clothe themselves) (or get dressed).” is “Los niños se visten.”
When I was teaching Spanish, I’d go over lots of words for various pieces of clothing. The word “vestido” caused all sorts of confusion for students. At first glance, you might assume the same thing that they assumed and think that “vestido” is “vest,” but you’d be wrong. Remember, I already told you that “chaleco” is “vest.” So, what in the world is a “vestido?” It’s a “dress.”
If you make all the connections with these words that begin with “vest” and that they all have to do with getting clothed or getting DRESSED, it’s easy to remember that “un vestido” is simply “a dress,” but teenagers don’t usually have advanced vocabulary skills, so this was a struggle for them. The struggle worsened for them, too, because “un vestido” is a masculine word in the Spanish language, and the students wanted to equate the gender of the person who usually wears a dress with the dress itself, but that’s not how language works.
A “vestry” in a church is the place where the “vestments” of the clergy are kept among other things. In Spanish, this is a “vestuario.” It can be called other things, too, but this is the cognate for “vestry.” “Vestuario” is used outside of church, though, and can be used to refer to other types of dressing rooms.
Another word for that room in a church as well as for the clothing kept in that room is the “vestiary.” It’s probably no surprise that “vestuario” is also the Spanish cognate for “vestiary.”
If you “divest” someone of something, you are taking it away, but you can also use this verb to mean that someone is removing clothing. “He quickly divested himself of the heavy clothing before jumping into the lake.” In that sense, the Spanish cognate is “desvestir” or “desvestirse.”
Yes, “invest” comes from the same place, and some of its meanings retain that aspect of “clothing” someone. Essentially, you surround someone with something if you “invest” them with certain powers or other things — kind of like adorning them or placing clothing upon them. In this sense, the Spanish cognate is “investir,” but only in this sense.
Until next time. Consider becoming a paying subscriber, so you don’t miss these weekly posts. Paying subscribers learned about “caprice” and the word “march” this month. It’s only a few dollars a month.
Thanks.
Tammy Marshall
Vestural