[ noun ] a long cassock with buttons down the front; worn by Roman Catholic priests <noun.artifact>
Soutane \Sou`tane"\, n. [F., fr. Sp. sotana, or It. sottana, LL. subtana, fr. L. subtus below, beneath, fr. sub under.] (Eccl. Costume) A close garnment with straight sleeves, and skirts reaching to the ankles, and buttoned in front from top to bottom; especially, the black garment of this shape worn by the clergy in France and Italy as their daily dress; a cassock.
Stephen Brennan in the title role is a creepy figure in a badly-hemmed black soutane, his waist encircled by a monster wooden rosary, a whiff of Rasputin about him.