Etymologically
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outfit

Etymology and origin of the English word outfit

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1748

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈaʊtfɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from out- and fit, after the phrase “fit out”.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of fitting out a ship for an expedition: 1769 in the OED and Etymonline;[5][2] MWU has 1748.[3]

Semantic evolution

The equipment needed for an expedition is American from 1787, and the extended senses come from it.[2][5] A person's clothes, a set of garments, is from 1852,[2][5] and a party travelling or in charge of cattle from 1867, any group of people working together from 1883.[5][2] The verb, to equip, is from 1772–98.[2][3] In drug slang an outfit was the apparatus for injecting (1935).[5]

Timeline

  • 1748 – fitting out (MWU).[3]
  • 1787 – equipment for an expedition.[2]
  • 1852 – a set of clothes.[2][5]
  • 1883 – a group of people.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A set of clothes worn together.
  2. (informal) A group of people working together, such as a company or band.
  3. A set of equipment for a particular purpose.

Verb

  1. To provide with equipment or clothes.

Word family

  • outfitter
  • preoutfit
  • reoutfit

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Outfit.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/outfit. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·