Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Cataclista

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

CATACLIS'TA sc. vestis (Apul. Met. xi. 245.; but neither the reading nor the meaning of the word is free from uncertainty.) A term which some have interpreted to mean a dress kept shut up in the wardrobe, and only taken out to be worn upon great occasions as a holiday dress (Salmas. ad Tertull. de Pall. 3.); others, with more apparent reason, a garment without any opening, but fitting tight and close to the person, like those commonly seen on Egyptian statues. Visconti, Mus. Pio-Clem. vi. 14.