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

Crème de la Crème is popular for home goods and is stocked with an assortment of glassware, candles, linens, and garden accoutrements. —Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2024

That is, simply having the world’s best mattress isn’t enough to guarantee you five-star REM on the nightly—you’ll still want dreamy accoutrement, like a pillow that supports neck and spine alignment and cooling sheets that help prevent swampy mornings. —Alexis Berger, SELF, 14 Aug. 2024

The kind that take you back to simple breakfasts at home, where paper plates sag in the steam of a stack of homemade cakes and the only accoutrements are a stick of room-temp butter and a sticky bottle of syrup. —Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2024

However, there's one particular Mean Girls accoutrement that's been living rent-free in our head since the first iteration of the film came out two decades ago: Regina George's initial necklace. —Vivien Lee, refinery29.com, 17 Jan. 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