vestry
noun
- parish committee
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈvɛstɹi/
noun
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman vesterie, from Old French vestiaire (“room for vestments, dressing room”), from Latin vestiarium (“wardrobe”). Doublet of vestiary.
- A room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these are stored; also used for meetings and classes.
“The choirboys change into their cassocks in the vestry.”
“What a day, eh? Demmy, it's like the commencement of the rainy season in Bengal. But you'll find my carriage is watertight. Come along, my mother and Emmy are in the vestry.”
- An assembly of persons (ad hoc or recurrent) who manage parochial affairs; so called because usually held in a vestry.
- A committee of parishioners elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.
“Near-synonyms: parochial church council, PCC, parish council (ecclesiastical sense, uncommon)”
“The vestry meets on the first Tuesday of every month.”