vêtez

Vêtez is a French verb form derived from vêtir, meaning to clothe or dress. Specifically, it is the second-person plural present indicative form (vous vêtez) and, in the imperative, serves as a command addressed to a group (Vêtez!). In modern everyday French, this verb is relatively rare and often considered literary or archaic, with habiller or vêtir appearing in more common usage, depending on the sense.

In contemporary contexts, you might encounter vêtez in literary or historical texts, where it describes dressing someone or something in garments. Examples in the present tense could read: “Vous vêtez vos enfants avant de sortir,” meaning you dress your children before going out. As an imperative, “Vêtez-les bien” would be a directive to a group to clothe them appropriately. Because vêtir is not frequently used in spoken language, native speakers are more likely to substitute with habiller or to refer to clothing with the noun plus verb phrases like porter des vêtements.

Etymologically, vêtez derives from the Old French vestir, itself from Latin vestire, from vestis meaning garment. The related noun vêtement (garment, clothing) shares the same root. The form vêtez thus connects to a broader family of words tied to clothing and dress in French. While not common in everyday speech, vêtez remains a correct inflected form of a historically important verb, preserved in literature and certain formal registers.