Etymograph

English

costume

Costume comes from Italian costume ‘a custom, habit’, from Latin suēscō ‘become used or accustomed to’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swe-dʰh₁-sḱ-e-ti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swe-dʰh₁-sḱ-e-ti1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuēscō2‘become used or accustomed to’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsuēscō2‘accustom, habituate’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconsuētūdō3‘custom, habit’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcostume3‘a custom, habit’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcostume3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1847costume3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin suesco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin consuetudo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English costume
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Currer Bell pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë, London: Smith: “Seated on the carpet, by the side of this…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swe-dʰh₁-sḱ-e-tiWiktionary, Latin suescoreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuēscōWiktionary, Latin consuetudo‘become used or accustomed to’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsuēscōWiktionary, Latin consuetudo‘accustom, habituate’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconsuētūdōWiktionary, English costume‘custom, habit’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcostumeWiktionary, English costume‘a custom, habit’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcostumeWiktionary, English costume
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1847costumeWiktionary, English costume. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Currer Bell pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë, London: Smith: “Seated on the carpet, by the side of this…”

The story

Verb circa 1802, perhaps modelled on French costumer.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin cōnsuēscō ‘accustom, habituate’

custom, 4 more

Today it means

noun A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “costume”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin suesco, Latin consuetudo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *swe-dʰh₁-sḱ-e-ti / costume

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