sackcloth

1. (usually with “and ashes”, also figurative) Garments worn as an act of penance.Examples: "After he realised the gravity of his crime he spent some time wearing sackcloth and ashes."; "Next you saw her alone, a kneeling penitent at the foot of the crucifix; her long fair hair is unbound, and the sackcloth robe is girded by a cord round her slender shape: her hands are clasped, and tears are flowing fast from the quenched radiance of those shadowy eyes;..."; "No more ashes, no more sackcloth / And an armband made of black cloth / Will someday never more adorn a sleeve"Synonyms: hairshirt, cilicealsocountablefigurativelyuncountableusually