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costume

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒs.tjuːm/, /ˈkɒs.t͡ʃuːm/ (UK); /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/, /ˈkɑsˌt͡ʃum/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French costume, from Italian costume (“fashion, habit, custom”),[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *cōnsuētūmen, for Latin cōnsuētūdō (“habit, custom”) (accusative cōnsuētūdinem).[2][3] It is a doublet of custom.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In historical art, the custom and fashion of the period represented: 1715.[2][6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It was first an art term for congruity of dress, furniture and so on in a picture.[3] From the customary dress of the period in which a scene is laid, it broadened by 1818 to any style of dress,[3][6] and a set of outer clothes, especially a woman's, in the 19th century.[7] An actor's dress is from 1883, and a bathing costume from 1884.[6] The verb is from 1823,[2][3] and costume jewellery by 1917.[3]

Timeline

  • 1715 – in art, the fashion of a period.[2][6]
  • 1802 – a mode of dress.[6]
  • 1823 – the verb.[2]
  • 1883 – an actor's dress.[6]
  • 1917 – costume jewelry.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A set of clothes worn to look like someone or something else, as by an actor or at a party.
  2. The style of dress of a particular place, period or people.
  3. (British) A swimsuit; a swimming costume.

Verb

  1. To dress in a costume.

Word family

  • costumey
  • cossie
  • costumery
  • costumer
  • costumier
  • recostume
  • academic costume
  • costume jewelry

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press