Definition of "alb" []

• Ecclesiastical A long white linen robe with tapered sleeves worn by a priest at Mass. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Another use of the word alb, commonly in the plural albæ (vestes), occurs in medieval writers."
• "As regards the vestments themselves: the amice signifies preparation to resist the attacks of the devil; the alb is the symbol of innocence; the cincture of charity; the maniple of penance; the stole of immortality; and the chasuble of love, by which we are enabled to bear the light burden Our Lord is pleased to lay upon us."
• "Until the middle of the twelfth century the alb was the vestment which all clerics wore when exercising their functions, and Rupert of"