Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of surplice.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • That meant stiff white Eton collars, and texts gabbled between mouthfuls of porridge; and, later, our three small bodies arrayed in short surplices, and the long service in the Cathedral.

    Explorers of the Dawn Mazo De la Roche 1920

  • There was a choir of boys in short surplices and blue cassocks, and a very musical service, in the course of which it was discovered to be the Feast of St. Remigius, for after the Lesson a short discourse was given on the Conversion of Clovis, not forgetting the sacred ampulla.

    Beechcroft at Rockstone Charlotte Mary Yonge 1862

  • The main reason is that those ceremonies have been organized at the last minute and it has been difficult to find were the cassocks and surplices are kept if there are any.

    Lourdes : Pèlerinage National 2009

  • Investment bankers swap surplices for somber suits with ease.

    Corporate America Seeks Severance Payout Liam Denning 2011

  • He went to the cathedral durin 'service, an' took in the priests and choir-boys in their surplices, -- _parkas_, he called 'em, -- an 'watched the burnin' of the holy incense.

    CHAPTER 16 2010

  • Now follows the ‘sevenfold litany’ (septiformis letania), sung by seven boys in seven surplices.

    The Triduum According to the Sarum Use 2009

  • Priests in churches conducted the services in gloves with the surplices on their fur coats.

    When Hell Froze Over, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009

  • (A detail readers may note in the procession: the characteristic Spanish surplices with their wings gathered over the arms)

    Octave of Corpus Christi 2009

  • In terms of the ornaments of the liturgy, sometimes the altar is set up in a way that is untidy, such as crooked candles that could easily be straightened or unevenly spaced candlesticks that a few more minutes of preparation could rectify; unkempt vestments, altar linens, cassocks and surplices for servers are sometimes also in evidence, as are servers visibly wearing informal clothing beneath their cassock.

    Ars Celebrandi as it relates to the Usus Antiquior 2009

  • Then follows the ‘fivefold litany’, (quinquepartita letania, or letania ad fontes) sung by five deacons in five surplices, with a slightly different selection of saints, during which a procession moves off to the font in order to bless it.

    The Triduum According to the Sarum Use 2009

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