accoutrement

noun

ac·​cou·​tre·​ment ə-ˈkü-trə-mənt  ə-ˈkü-tər-mənt 

variants or accouterment

ə-ˈkü-tər-mənt 

1

a

: equipment, trappings

specifically : a soldier's outfit usually not including clothes and weapons

—usually used in plural

b

: an accessory item of clothing or equipment

—usually used in plural

Shops offering the physical accoutrements of polite manners—lace, gloves, linen underclothing, snuff, and gentleman's powdered wigs …

—Arthur Herman

2

: an identifying and often superficial characteristic or device

—usually used in plural

… some of the other accouterments of power that define our diplomacy.

—Elizabeth Drew

3

archaic : the act of accoutring

Did you know?

Tracing Accoutrement Back to Old French

Accoutrement and its rarer relative accoutre, a verb meaning "to provide with equipment or furnishings" or "to outfit," have been appearing in English texts since the 16th century. Today both words have variant spellings—accouterment and accouter. The pair's French ancestor, accoutrer, descends from an Old French word meaning "seam" and ultimately traces to the Latin word consuere, meaning "to sew together." Some etymological stitching is visible in another English word: couture, a word referring to the business of making fashionable clothes, as well as to the clothes themselves, is also a descendant of consuere.

Synonyms

• accessory
• accessary
• adapter
• adaptor
• add-on
• adjunct
• appendage
• appliance
• attachment
• option

Examples of accoutrement in a Sentence

this vacuum cleaner has all of the accoutrements for cleaning furniture as well as floors

has all the accoutrements that the home pastry chef could ever want

Recent Examples on the Web

That may strike purists as counterintuitive—the mechanism has long been seen as a flashy accoutrement—but then again, the device is no stranger to controversy. —Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 10 May 2024

Next to him, a swarm of servers placed several accoutrements next to it, including harissa oil, garlic-tahini salt and fresh herbs. —Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French accoutrement, accoustrement, from accoutrer "to accoutre" + -ment -ment

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

accoutrement

noun

ac·​cou·​tre·​ment

variants or accouterment

ə-ˈkü-trə-mənt  -ˈküt-ər-mənt 

: an accessory item of clothing or equipment

—usually used in plural