costume
costume Lexical Profile
costume Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A set of clothes worn by an actor or performer for a particular role, or by someone attending a masquerade, party, or festival to look like another person, character, or thing.
"The lead actor wore an elaborate Elizabethan costume complete with a ruffled collar and velvet cape."
A style of dress, including garments, accessories, and hairstyles, that is characteristic of a particular country, historical period, or social group.
"During the cultural festival, dancers performed traditional folk dances in their colorful national costume."
British A coordinated ensemble of clothes designed for a specific activity, especially a woman's tailored two-piece suit or a swimming outfit.
"She packed a towel and her swimming costume before heading down to the coastal lido."
• verb
To dress or outfit someone in a particular style of clothing, or to design and provide garments for a theatrical, film, or television production.
"The wardrobe department worked for months to costume the entire cast in authentic nineteenth-century garments."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Costume' and 'custom' are etymological doublets that should not be confused: 'costume' refers to distinctive clothing or theatrical attire, whereas 'custom' refers to a traditional practice or habitual behavior.
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 18th century from French costume, from Italian costume ('custom, fashion, habit'), which derives from Latin consuetudinem ('custom, habit, usage'). It is an etymological doublet of the English word 'custom', having entered the language later as an artistic term for historical and regional dress in painting.