Custom

How to spell custom

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce custom

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does custom mean?

1. nounAn established habit or traditional practice followed by a person or group.
2. adjectiveMade or done specially for a particular customer rather than mass produced.

Custom in a sentence

• noun

  It is a local custom to exchange gifts at the harvest festival.

• adjective

  He ordered a custom suit tailored to his exact measurements.

• noun

  The family kept the old custom of eating together every Sunday.

• adjective

  The workshop builds custom furniture for each client.

Where does custom come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word travels into English from Latin consuetudinem, the accusative form of consuetudo, which meant 'habit, usage, or established practice'. That noun was built on consuescere, 'to accustom oneself', combining the intensifying prefix con- with suescere, 'to grow used to something'. Old French reshaped the Latin word into costume and custume, meaning a settled habit or social practice, and English borrowed it in the 1200s. The same Latin source eventually gave English a second, fancier descendant, 'costume', which is why custom and costume are cousins that drifted apart in spelling. The plain spelling with a single medial consonant is a useful reminder that this is the older, everyday form, while the dressier 'costume' kept its extra syllable.

How the word is built

• custom (from Latin consuetudinem: habit, usage), via cust- (from consuescere: to accustom)
• -om (suffix evolved through Old French)