(a) A garment, an article of clothing; also, coll. & pl. clothes, apparel, attire; also fig. & in fig. context; ~ brech [cp. OE wǣd-brēc], some kind of covering for the loins; cloth ~; hali-dai wedes, festive garments; in on ~, in the same kind of clothing, in one and the same manner of dress; (b) usu. coll. or pl. clothing indicative of a particular affiliation, status, or sex; a religious habit, religious garb; mannes (palmeres, pilgrimes, etc.) ~; religious ~, the garb of a religious; widwe wede(s, widow’s weeds, mourning garments; (c) an article of protective clothing or battle apparel; a coat of mail; a piece of armor; ?also, a royal symbol or token [quot. 1415]; coll. & pl. armor, battle gear; here wedes [cp. OE here-wǣd], armor; iren (stele) wede(s, irnen (stelen) ~, armor of iron (steel), coats of mail; (d) a cloth used as a covering, a seat or floor covering, cushion; also, coll. cloth coverings, bedclothes, swaddling clothes; (e) fig. a covering, cover; the covering of the flesh; also, guise, aspect, appearance; under ~, in a disguise, covertly, secretly;—freq. used coll.; under oure ~, in our likeness; (f) coll. & pl. with diminished force in generalizing phrases, often used for alliteration or as mere rime tag: in (under) wede(s, in clothing; in the world; (g) anat. a membranous covering or envelope (for the brain).