accouterment

Alternative forms

• (commonwealth) accoutrement

Etymology

• First attested in the 1540s.
• From Middle French accoustrement, from accoustrer, from Old French acostrer (“arrange, sew up”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ə.ˈku.tɚ.mənt/

Noun

accouterment (plural accouterments)

1. The act of accoutering.
2. An article of clothing or equipment, in particular when used as an accessory.
3. (plural only) apparatus needed for a task or journey.
4. (military, plural only) Equipment other than weapons and uniform.
5. (plural only) trappings.
6. An identifying yet superficial characteristic.
   • 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The Onion AV Club‎:

     But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days).

Anagrams

• accoutrement