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

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

yashmak

yash•mak (yahsh-MAHK, YASH-mak)  n
also yashmac or yasmak

Definition:
a veil worn by Muslim women that is wrapped around the upper and lower parts of the face so that only the eyes remain exposed to public view

Origin:
1844; Turkish yaşmak


Sentence Examples:
• The girl wore absolutely nothing except a Yashmak and a zone of blue jewels across her breasts and hips. -The Moonlit Way, by Robert W. Chambers

• But he is the writer society delights in, to show what it is composed of. A man brazen enough to declare that he could hold us in suspense about the adventures of a broomstick, with the aid of a yashmak and an ankle, may know the world; you had better not know him—that is my remark; and do not trust him. -The Amazing Marriage, Complete, by George Meredith

• Most of these qualities, I am aware, are found in many another pair of lambent, dreamy eyes half-hidden by the soft folds of a yashmak--eyes which these houris often flash on some poor devil of a giaour, knowing how safe they are and how slim his chance for further acquaintance. -The Veiled Lady, by F. Hopkinson Smith

Sources: Merriam-Webster

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

titivate

tit•i•vate (TIT-uh-veyt)  v

Definition:
to smarten or spruce up (oneself or another or a thing), as by making up, doing the hair, etc.


titivated past participle; titivated past tense; titivating present participle; titivates 3rd person singular present; titivation, titivator noun

Origin:
1824; alteration of earlier tidivate, perhaps based on tidy with a quasi-Latin ending

Related:
Synonyms: beautify, embellish, preen, primp, spruce

Sentence Examples:
• 'Yes,' he answered. 'I can be there and back in an hour or less. You titivate yourself, and we'll dine at the Savoy, or anywhere you please. We'll keep the ball rolling to-night. Yes,' he repeated, as if to convince himself that he was not a deserter, 'I really must call in at the office. You and John can see to the luggage, can't you?' -Tales of the Five Towns, Arnold Bennett

• Before we proceed on our way, the foppery of our charioteer reasserts itself. Of course, his neat and spruce trim has been considerably disarrayed, so now he proceeds to reorganize his appearance. Gravely and calmly he draws brushes and so on from a receptacle under the box-seat, and commences to titivate himself.  -Brighter Britain!, William Delisle Hay

• So here I am, at least what is left of me, and dreadful glad I am to see you too; but as it is about your dinner hour I will go and titivate up a bit, and then we will have a dish of chat for desert, and cigars, to remind us of by-gones, as we stroll through your shady walks here. - Nature and Human Nature, Thomas Chandler Haliburton

Sources: Free Dictionary

Word-E: A Word-A-Day