use somewhat late (as a translation of the old names of _subtanea,
vestis talaris, toga talaris_, or _tunica talaris_), being mentioned in
canon 74 of 1604; and it is in this sense alone that it now survives.
The origin of the word has been the subject of much speculation. It is
derived through the French from the Italian _casacca_, which Florio (_Q.
Anna's New World of Words_, 1611) translates as "a frock, a horseman's
cote, a long cote; also a habitation or dwelling," and it is usually
held that this in turn is derived from _casa_, a house (cf. the
derivation of "chasuble," q.v.). This, however, though possible is
uncertain. A Slav origin for the word has been suggested (Hatzfeld and
Darmesteter, _Dic. gen. de la langue francaise_), and the Cossack
horseman may have given to the West both the garment and the name. Or
again, it may be derived from _casequin_ (Ital. _casecchino_), rather
than vice versa, and this in turn from an Arabic _kazayand_ (Pers.
_kashayand_), a padded jerkin; the word _kasagan_ occurring in Mid. High
Ger. for a riding-cloak, and _gasygan_ in O. Fr. for a padded jerkin
(Lagarde in _Gott. gelehrte Anzeiger_, April 15, 1887, p. 238).

The cassock, though part of the canonical costume of the clergy, is not
a liturgical vestment. It was originally the out-of-doors and domestic
dress of lay-people as well as clergy, and its survival among the latter
when the secular fashions had changed is merely the outcome of
ecclesiastical conservatism. In mild weather it was the outer garment;
in cold weather it was worn under the tabard or chimere (q.v.) sometimes
in the middle ages the name "chimere" was given to it as well as to the
sleeveless upper robe. In winter the cassock was often lined with furs
varying in costliness with the rank of the wearer, and its colour also
varied in the middle ages with his ecclesiastical or academic status. In
the Roman Catholic Church the _subtanea_ (Fr. _soutane_, Ital.
_sottana_) must be worn by the clergy whenever they appear, both in
ordinary life (except in Protestant countries) and under their vestments
in church. It varies in colour with the wearer's rank: white for the
pope, red (or black edged with red) for cardinals, purple for bishops,
black for the lesser ranks: members of religious orders, however,
whatever their rank, wear the colour of their religious habit. In the
Church of England the cassock, which with the gown is prescribed by the
above-mentioned canon of 16