costume

[n. kos-toom, -tyoom; v. ko-stoom, -styoom] /n. ˈkɒs tum, -tyum; v. kɒˈstum, -ˈstyum/
noun
1.
a style of dress, including accessories and hairdos, especially that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.
2.
dress or garb characteristic of another period, place, person, etc., as worn on the stage or at balls.
3.
fashion of dress appropriate to a particular occasion or season:
dancing costume; winter costume.
4.
a set of garments, especially women's garments, selected for wear at a single time; outfit; ensemble.
verb (used with object), costumed, costuming.
5.
to dress; furnish with a costume; provide appropriate dress for:
to costume a play.
adjective
6.
of or characterized by the wearing of costumes:
a costume party.
7.
meant for use with or appropriate to a specific costume:
costume accessories.
Origin
1705-15; < French < Italian: usage, habit, dress; doublet of custom
Related forms
recostume, verb (used with object), recostumed, recostuming.
uncostumed, adjective
well-costumed, adjective
Synonyms
1. See dress.
Examples from the web for costume
  • Innovations of costume rendered this disillusion more complete.
  • When she orders a tailor-made suit, she calls it a costume or a coat-and-skirt.
  • He was never a dry or pompous scientist, he liked jokes and costume parties, he was a late starter with one great obsession.
  • Step out of the shrink-wrapped kitty costume and sip on something a little more daring.
  • Albright has some valuable pieces and some heirlooms, but mostly the collection consists of costume jewelry.
  • The puppets' handlers, in costume, hover visibly over their charges.
  • There's also a selection of evening dresses, shoes, funky costume jewelry and dresses for toddlers.
  • The kids will especially enjoy the costume workshop.
  • Each village or district has its own unique costume and the variety is astounding-spiders and witches, animals and jesters.
  • Put a small amount of costume makeup on one arm about two days before dressing up.
British Dictionary definitions for costume

costume

/ˈkɒstjuːm/
noun
1.
a complete style of dressing, including all the clothes, accessories, etc, worn at one time, as in a particular country or period; dress: national costume
2.
(old-fashioned) a woman's suit
3.
a set of clothes, esp unusual or period clothes, worn in a play by an actor or at a fancy dress ball: a jester's costume
4.
short for swimming costume
verb (transitive)
5.
to furnish the costumes for (a show, film, etc)
6.
to dress (someone) in a costume
Word Origin
C18: from French, from Italian: dress, habit, custom
Word Origin and History for costume
n.

1715, "style of dress," an art term, from French costume (17c.), from Italian costume "fashion, habit," from Latin consuetudinem (nominative consuetudo) "custom, habit, usage." Essentially the same word as custom but arriving by a different etymology. From "customary clothes of the particular period in which the scene is laid," meaning broadened by 1818 to "any defined mode of dress." Costume jewelry is first attested 1933.

v.

1823, from costume (n.). Related: Costumed; costuming.