Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A full-length garment with elbow-length or long sleeves, worn chiefly in eastern Mediterranean countries.
  • noun A westernized version of this garment consisting of a loose, usually brightly colored waist-length or ankle-length tunic.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A garment worn by men in Turkey, Egypt, and other eastern countries, consisting of a kind of long vest tied about the waist with a girdle, and having sleeves long enough to extend beyond the tips of the fingers. A long cloth coat is worn above it.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb rare To clothe with a caftan.
  • noun A garment worn throughout the Levant, consisting of a long gown with sleeves reaching below the hands. It is generally fastened by a belt or sash.

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

  • noun Alternative spelling of kaftan.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a (cotton or silk) cloak with full sleeves and sash reaching down to the ankles; worn by men in the Levant
  • noun a woman's dress style that imitates the caftan cloaks worn by men in the Near East

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Russian kaftan, from Ottoman Turkish qaftān (equivalent to Modern Turkish kaftan), from Proto-Turkic *qāp-tōn : *qāp, sack + *tōn, garment.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • "A stooped bearded figure appears garbed in the long caftan of an elder in Zion and a smoking cap with magenta tassels."

    Joyce, Ulysses, 15

    January 28, 2007