Etymologically
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suite

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /swiːt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French suite, from Old French suite, earlier sieute, siute, the act of following, attendance,[2][3][4] a later borrowing of the word that gave suit.[3][5] The pronunciation is French.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A train of followers or attendants: 1673, in Dryden's Marriage-à-la-Mode.[2][6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

A set of rooms used together is first recorded in letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1716), from French;[2][6] Hoad calls this sense an English development.[5] A succession or series is from 1722.[6] A set of instrumental pieces to be played in succession is from the 1680s,[3] and a set of matching furniture from 1805.[2][6] In computing, a set of programs sold or used together is from 1966.[7]

Timeline

  • 1673 – a train of attendants.[2][6]
  • 1680s – a musical suite.[3]
  • 1716 – a set of rooms.[2][6]
  • 1722 – a series.[6]
  • 1805 – a set of furniture.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A set of connected rooms, as in a hotel.
  2. A set of matching furniture: a three-piece suite.
  3. (music) An instrumental composition in several movements.
  4. A group of attendants; a retinue.
  5. (computing) A set of programs designed to work together.

Word family

  • en suite

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)