costume

Etymology

From Middle English costume, custume, from Old French costume, custume, from Italian costume, from a Vulgar Latin *cōnsuētūmen or *costūmen, from Latin cōnsuētūdinem, accusative singular of cōnsuētūdō (“custom, habit”). Doublet of consuetude and custom. Verb circa 1823.

noun

1. A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.
   The apology came after a netizen claimed Soberano was supposedly doing a black face, but the latter said, in defense, it was just a “costume.” 2019, Krissy Aguilar, “Liza Soberano Apologizes for Comments on ‘Black Face’”, in Philippine Daily Inquirer
2. An outfit or a disguise worn as fancy dress etc.
   We wore gorilla costumes to the party.
3. A set of clothes appropriate for a particular occasion or season.
   The bride wore a grey going-away costume.

verb

1. To dress or adorn with a costume or appropriate garb.
   1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII Seated on the carpet, by the side of this basin, was seen Mr. Rochester, costumed in shawls, with a turban on his head. His dark eyes and swarthy skin and Paynim features suited the costume exactly. He looked the very model of an Eastern emir, an agent or a victim of the bowstring.
   "The Chengtu revolutionaries were fantastically colourful in the Szechwanese manner—they costumed themselves as heroes of the stage and their energies were chiefly occupied in tying ropes across the main streets so that when Imperial officials rode by in their litters they would have to get down and crawl under, losing face. 1942 March, “Notes and News: Monument to a Stillborn Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 88