Protestant attire
- noun
:
atuendo protestante
- Historical paintings often depict Puritans in distinctive Protestant attire.
Examples
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Her simple black dress was considered appropriate Protestant attire for the occasion.
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She wore her best Protestant attire to the church service.
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The missionaries wore traditional Protestant attire during the church service.
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Many people prefer Protestant attire for formal church events.
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Her simple black dress was considered appropriate Protestant attire for the occasion.
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The missionaries wore traditional Protestant attire during the church service.
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Many people prefer Protestant attire for formal church events.
Synonyms
Special clothes people wear for church to show respect
How Simple
5
3.2
8
1.8
1
3.5
- Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'clothing associated with Protestants' is directly and compositionally derived from 'Protestant' (relating to Protestant denominations) + 'attire' (clothing). This adjectival + noun pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the two constituents can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Protestant attire comes from early Protestants who chose plain, dark attire with little decoration to show modesty and faith. So today the term refers to the clothing worn by Protestants and often means 'simple' or 'modest' dress.