/pree tek"steuh/ , n. , pl. praetextae /-tek"stee/ .
1. (in ancient Rome) a white toga with a broad purple border, worn by priests and magistrates as an official costume, and by certain other Romans as ceremonial dress.
2. a similar garment worn by a boy until he assumed the toga virilis, or by a girl until she married.
Also, pretexta .
[ 1595-1605; toga praetexta lit., bordered toga. See PRETEXT ]