Meaning & use
bisht
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Meaning
nouncountable
A long, loose cloak, open at the front and often trimmed with gold thread, worn over other clothes by men in the Arabian Gulf for formal occasions.
Grammar: Takes a plural: a bisht, two bishts.
Patterns
- wear a bisht
- a bisht over something
The groom arrived in a black bisht with gold embroidery along the edges.
He draped a bisht over his white robe before meeting the guests.
A fine bisht can take a tailor weeks to hand-stitch.
Word forms
| plural | bishts |
|---|
Common combinations
- wear a bisht
- Officials wear a bisht at state ceremonies.
- gold-trimmed bisht
- His gold-trimmed bisht caught the light as he walked in.
- traditional bisht
- A traditional bisht is woven from wool or camel hair.
- drape a bisht
- She helped her father drape the bisht over his shoulders.
- present someone with a bisht
- The host presented the visiting dignitary with a bisht as a gift.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cloak
- Cloak is the general English word for any loose outer garment; a bisht is a specific Gulf style with particular fabric and trim.
- mantle
- Mantle is a more literary word for a sleeveless cloak and has no connection to Gulf dress.
- robe
- A robe can be any long garment, including one worn under a bisht, while a bisht is always an open outer layer.
Commonly confused: bisht or thobe?
bisht vs thobe
A thobe is the long ankle-length shirt-like garment worn underneath; the bisht is the cloak worn over it.
Practice
At a formal Gulf wedding, the groom put a bisht over his thobe. What is a bisht?
Choose one answer.
A bisht is an outer cloak. The head scarf is a different item, and a thobe, not a bisht, is the garment underneath.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bisht”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.