habiliment

ha•bil•i•ment (huh-BIL-uh-muhnt)  n
often plural

Definition:
1. clothing, especially the special dress or garb associated with an occasion or office
2. characteristic furnishings or equipment; trappings (habiliments)

habilimental, habilimentary, habilimented adjective
Origin:
early 15c.; from M.Fr. habillement, from abiller "prepare or fit out," probably from habile "fit, suitable"; alternative etymology makes the French verb originally mean "reduce a tree by stripping off the branches," from a- "to" + bille "stick of wood"; sense of "clothing, dress" developed late 15c., by association with habit

Related:
Synonyms: clothing, apparel, attire, clothes, dress, garb, gown, trappings
Related Words: able, habit

Sentence Examples:
• A lackey, whose habiliment, neat but not gaudy, indicated the unostentatious disposition of his master,, answered the summons of the knocker: "Mr. C. was gone to his office at the Royal Exchange." - Real Life in London
 
• The bedroom was shockingly cold. Going to bed is a test of character. I pride myself on the fact that generally, even when my room is cold, I can, with steady nerve and resolute hand, remove the last habiliment, and without undignified precipitation reach for and indue the nocturnal garment, I admit, however, that on this occasion I gave way to a weak irresolution at the critical instant and shivered for some moments in constantly increasing demoralization, before I could make up my mind to the final change. - The Cold Snap, Edward Bellamy

• Shaw passed on to the camp, while I remained to call upon Colonel Kearny. I found him still at table. There sat our friend the captain, in the same remarkable habiliments in which we saw him at Westport; the black pipe, however, being for the present laid aside. - The Oregon Trail, Francis Parkman, Jr.

Sources: Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

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