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suit

(st)

a. A set of matching outer garments, especially one consisting of a coat with trousers or a skirt, often worn on formal occasions.

b. Slang A person, especially an executive, who wears one of these garments at work.

2. An outfit worn for a special activity: a diving suit; a running suit.

3. A group of things used together; a set or collection: a suit of sails; a suit of tools.

4. Games Any of the four sets of 13 playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) in a standard deck, the members of which bear the same marks.

5. Attendance required of a vassal at his feudal lord's court or manor.

6. Law A lawsuit.

7. The act or an instance of courting a woman; courtship: She was inclined to accept his suit.

v. suit·ed, suit·ing, suits

v.tr.

1. To meet the requirements of; fit: This candidate does not suit our qualifications.

2. To make appropriate or suitable; adapt: builders who suit the house to the owner's specifications.

3. To be appropriate for; befit: a color that suits you.

4. To please; satisfy: a choice that suits us all.

5. To provide with clothing; dress: The NCOs suited the recruits in green uniforms.

v.intr.

1. To be suitable or acceptable.

2. To be in accord; agree or match.

Phrasal Verb:

suit up

To put on clothing designed for a special activity: suits up in shorts for a jog.

[Middle English sute, from Anglo-Norman, from Vulgar Latin *sequita, act of following, feminine of *sequitus, past participle of *sequere, to follow, from Latin sequī; see SUITOR.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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