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Glite Dictionary
👑 British royal 🧥 A formal coat
Prince Albert

Prince Albert

9.9
A formal long coat for men with two rows of buttons popular in the 19th century
  • noun
  • /prɪns ˈæl.bɚt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : abrigo Príncipe Alberto
  • At the formal event, many guests were dressed in Prince Albert coats that showcased the fashion of the 19th century.

Examples

  • The museum displayed a stunning collection of vintage clothing, including a classic Prince Albert coat from the Victorian era.

  • He took this walk wearing spats, a silk topper, and a Prince Albert with wing collar and four-in-hand.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • He looked quite dapper in his Prince Albert coat, which was carefully tailored for the occasion.

Synonyms

frock coat
vsPrince Albert
  • Archaic
2 9.9

A formal coat for men with skirts that reach the knees, common in the 1800s

is a double-breasted version focused on closure rather than general length
surtout
vsPrince Albert
  • Archaic
9.9

A long overcoat for men worn over other clothes in old times

is a double-breasted tailored coat worn as main garment not outerwear

Surface Forms

Prince Albert singular
Prince Alberts plural

Morphology

prince + Albert

This is an eponymous garment name (named after a person), so knowing 'prince' and the proper name 'Albert' does not allow a learner to infer the sense ‘a double-breasted frock coat.’ The meaning is conventionalized and lexicalized rather than compositionally built from the constituents, so a B1 learner would not reliably predict it from the parts.

Etymology

Prince Albert is the name for a long, double-breasted frock coat because the real Prince Albert often wore that style. People began to call the coat the 'Prince Albert', so today the term means that classic formal men's coat.