Laena
(
χλαῖνα). An ancient Roman garment worn by the Flamines,
fastened with a bronze clasp (
Cic. Brut. 14,
56). It was a woollen mantle, of a coarse, shaggy material, twice as thick as an
ordinary toga. Under the Empire it was very generally worn as an outer cloak by all classes of
society, especially on going out to supper. It was sometimes scarlet, and sometimes violet,
but in these colours it appears to have been used only by the rich. (Cf. Juv. iii. 283 with
Mayor's note; and
Pers. i. 32.)