toga

toga
—togaed /toh"geuhd/, adj.
/toh"geuh/, n., pl. togas, togae /-jee, -gee/.
1. (in ancient Rome) the loose outer garment worn by citizens in public.
2. a robe of office, a professorial gown, or some other distinctive garment.
[1590-1600; < L; akin to TEGMEN]

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Loose, draped outer garment adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans.

It was originally worn by both sexes of all classes, but was gradually abandoned by women, then by labourers, and finally by patricians, but throughout the history of the empire it remained the state dress, the garment of the emperor and high officials. Made from an oval piece of fabric, the toga had voluminous folds that made activity difficult and thus became the distinctive garment of the upper classes. The colour of the toga worn depended on class, age, and the character of such special events as mourning and triumphs.

Imperial Roman toga on Tiberius (reigned AD 14–37); in the Louvre, Paris

Giraudon
Art Resource/EB Inc.

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 characteristic loose, draped outer garment of Roman citizens. Adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans, it was originally worn by both sexes of all classes but was gradually abandoned by women, then by labouring people, and finally by the patricians themselves. Throughout the history of the empire, however, it remained the state dress, the garment of the emperor and high officials. Made from an oval-shaped piece of material, the toga had voluminous folds, requiring such skill to drape that often a special slave was retained for this operation. Because the mass of folds prevented active pursuits, the toga became the distinctive garment of the upper classes.

      Colour and pattern were rigidly prescribed for most wearers. For example, senators and candidates wore white togas (toga candida); freeborn boys, until puberty, wore a purple-bordered toga (toga praetexta); after reaching puberty, adolescents began to wear the plain man's toga (toga pura, or toga virilis); people in mourning wore dark colours (toga pulla); and for triumphs and, in the later period, for consuls, the toga was richly embroidered and patterned (toga picta). After about AD 100, the toga began to diminish in size.

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Universalium. 2010.

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