vêtue

Vêtue is the feminine past participle of the French verb vêtir, meaning to clothe or dress. It functions as an adjective or in compound tenses with the auxiliary être, to indicate that someone is dressed in a certain way. The masculine counterpart is vêtu, and the feminine plural is vêtues; the masculine plural is vêtus. When used with être, the participle agrees in gender and number: elle est vêtue, ils sont vêtus, elles sont vêtues.

Etymology and related forms: vêtir comes from Old French and ultimately from Latin vestire, related to vestis, clothing. The noun vêtement (garment) shares the same root. The form vêtue is the feminine agreement of the past participle used in modern French.

Usage: Vêtue is common in formal, literary, or descriptive prose. It is often found in phrases such as être vêtue de, meaning to be dressed in or wearing, for example, elle est vêtue d’une robe noire (she is dressed in a black dress). It can also appear as well-dressed or neatly dressed, especially in contexts stressing appearance, style, or attire. In everyday speech, more ordinary verbs such as habiller or porter are frequently used instead.

Examples: Elle était vêtue d’un tailleur gris. Ils sont vêtus de costumes sombres. Elle est bien vêtue pour l’événement.

See also: vêtu, vêtement, dévêtir (to undress), habiller (to dress, to clothe). Vêtue remains a commonly encountered but somewhat formal or literary way to describe attire.