gownsman

English

Alternative forms

• gownman

Etymology

From gown +‎ -s- +‎ man.

Noun

gownsman (plural gownsmen)

1. One whose professional habit is a gown, such as a divine, a lawyer, or a member of certain English universities.

   Hyponym: gownie

   • 1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, →OCLC:

     The two gownsmen lowered the rigid body. It lay straight as a board, supported by no more than its head on the chair-back, and its heels on the ground.

2. (archaic) A civilian, in distinction from a soldier.