vestry

(redirected from vestries)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.

ves·try

 (vĕs′trē)
n. pl. ves·tries
1. A room in or attached to a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these robes and other sacred objects are stored; a sacristy.
2. A room in a church used for meetings and classes.
3. A committee of members elected to administer the temporal affairs of a parish.
4. A business meeting of parishioners in a parish.

[Middle English vestrie, probably from Anglo-Norman *vesterie, alteration of Old French vestiarie; see vestiary.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vestry

(ˈvɛstrɪ)
n, pl -tries
1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a room in or attached to a church in which vestments, sacred vessels, etc, are kept
2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a room in or attached to some churches, used for Sunday school, meetings, etc
3. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Church of England
a. a meeting of all the members of a parish or their representatives, to transact the official business of the parish
b. the body of members meeting for this; the parish council
4. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Episcopal Church Anglican Church a committee of vestrymen chosen by the congregation to manage the temporal affairs of their church
[C14: probably from Old French vestiarie; see vest]
ˈvestral adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ves•try

(ˈvɛs tri)

n., pl. -tries.
1. a room in or a building attached to a church, in which the vestments, and sometimes liturgical objects, are kept; sacristy.
2. a room in or a building attached to a church, used as a chapel, for prayer meetings, for the Sunday school, etc.
3. (in the Episcopal Church) a committee elected by members of a congregation to serve with the churchwardens in managing the temporal affairs of the church.
4. (in the Church of England) a meeting of parishioners or of a committee of parishioners to discuss official business.
[1350–1400; Middle English vestrie. See vest (v.), -ery]
ves′tral, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Vestry

 in the Church of England, the body which administers the affairs of the church or parish, hence, the collective body of churchwardens, 1672.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.vestry - in the Protestant Episcopal Church: a committee elected by the congregation to work with the churchwardens in managing the temporal affairs of the churchvestry - in the Protestant Episcopal Church: a committee elected by the congregation to work with the churchwardens in managing the temporal affairs of the church
commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle
vestryman - a man who is a member of a church vestry
vestrywoman - a woman who is a member of a church vestry
2.vestry - a room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept or meetings are heldvestry - a room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept or meetings are held
church building, church - a place for public (especially Christian) worship; "the church was empty"
room - an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling; "the rooms were very small but they had a nice view"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

vestry

[ˈvestrɪ] Nsacristía f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

vestry

[ˈvɛstri] nsacristie f
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

vestry

nSakristei f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

vestry

[ˈvɛstrɪ] nsagrestia
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
The vestries were indiscriminately distributing bread sent us by the French government.
An advert for the post in the Church Times states that the churches can offer two dedicated vestries and enthusiastic teams of altar servers, readers, halls to support the churches, an increasing role in the community, a lively social calendar, and an opportunity for a rector to have the chance to exercise and develop his or her own gifts.
Improvements include the conservation of a 17th Century Cosin reredos screen, the installation of a toilet with disabled access, a servery in the north aisle and a toilet in the choir vestry, new carpets to the nave, sanctuary and two vestries and, over the next few months, the repair of the Victorian wrought-iron gates to the churchyard and the installation of specially-designed wrought-iron gates to the porch at the south door to replace dilapidated wooden ones.
I've got friends currently sitting on vestries, family men, good people, good Anglicans.
A tug of war often existed, however, between those who designed the churches an the latest fashion and those who had a financial stake in the process, particularly members of vestries, who wanted to balance style with cost.
The Kirk say vestries and church halls could provide room for small post offices in communities hit by closure.
WELSH chapels, once the bastion of the temperance movement, will soon be licensed to install bars to sell alcoholic drinks in their vestries.
These groups did not include the local justiciary, but they did include the Excise Office, the vestries most affected by the Act, and the various juries presiding over cases of riot, perjury, and extortion.
Previously, in accordance with the Metropolis Management Act of 1855 and its subsequent modifications, London's local affairs had been managed by the vestries of the twenty nine largest parishes and by twelve district boards nominated by the vestries of forty six smaller parishes.