accoutre

[uh-koo-ter]

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verb (used with object), ac·cou·tred, ac·cou·tring. Chiefly British.

accouter.

accouter

[uh-koo-ter]

verb (used with object)

to equip or outfit, especially with military clothes, equipment, etc.

Also especially British, ac·cou·tre.

Origin of accouter

1600–10; earlier accou(s)tre < French accoutrer, Old French acou(s)trer to arrange, accommodate, equip, perhaps < Vulgar Latin *accō(n)s(ū)tūrāre to sew together, mend (see ac-, couture), though loss of 2nd -ū- is unexplained

Related formsun·ac·cou·tered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for accoutre

equip, costume, embellish, outfit, decorate, attire, rig, array, furnish, clothe

Examples from the Web for accoutre

Historical Examples of accoutre

Let us exchange shields, and accoutre ourselves in Grecian suits; whether craft or courage, who will ask of an enemy?
The Aeneid of Virgil
Virgil
Dietrich then donned his armour and was assisted to accoutre himself by Hildebrand.
Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine
Lewis Spence

British Dictionary definitions for accoutre

accoutre

US accouter

verb

(tr; usually passive) to provide with equipment or dress, esp military

Word Origin for accoutre

C16: from Old French accoustrer to equip with clothing, ultimately related to Latin consuere to sew together

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for accoutre

accouter

also accoutre, 1590s, from French acoutrer, earlier acostrer (13c.) "arrange, dispose, put on (clothing)," originally "sew up," from Vulgar Latin accosturare "to sew together, sew up," from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + *consutura "a sewing together," from Latin consutus, past participle of consuere "to sew together," from con- (see com-) + suere "to sew" (see suture). Related: Accoutered; accoutred; accoutering; accoutring.