Custom

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7419
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

Custom

Postby Dr. Goodword » Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:28 pm

• custom •


Pronunciation: kês-têm • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. Traditional practice, the usual way of doing things, accepted traditions (among a specific group). 2. Habitual patronage, business, as "I took my custom away from his shop." 3. Habit, repeated practice (of one person). 4. (Adjective) Made to order: 'a custom suit'. 5. Customs The border office that checks passports and collects the duties on items imported or the duties themselves.

Notes: Ever wonder where customer came from? Well, in the UK people are accustomed to equating custom with business: "I reserve my custom for local shops." For some reason the US has abandoned this custom. The verb customize "make according to the customer's request" is based on this sense of the word on both sides of the Atlantic. The adjective for sense Nos. 1, 2, and 3 is customary and for sense No. 5, customable.

In Play: A habit should apply to individuals, while custom should apply to multiple people. However, we have confused the two so much that most dictionaries now accept them as synonyms. "It is my custom to ignore such matters", should be, "It is my habit to ignore such matters." However, making the distinction now is a lost cause.

Word History: In Middle English today's word was spelled custume from Old French costume, borrowed also 'as is' by English in the sense of "the dress customarily worn by a people". French inherited this word from Vulgar Latin constum(i)n-, an idiomatic variation of Latin consuetudin-, oblique stem of consuetudo "custom". This word was based on consuetus "accustomed", the past participle of consuescere "to accustom", comprising com- "(together) with" (here an intensive prefix) + suescere "to become accustomed". Latin inherited the root from PIE s(w)e- "self" in the Appendix of Indo-European roots. It turns up alone in Latin sui "self" which English borrowed in suicide and sui generis "unique" (its own kind). Russian svoj "one's own" and English self share the same origin. (Here is a custom "thank you" for Tomasz Kowaltowski, who suggested today's unexpectedly Good Word.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: Custom

Postby Slava » Mon Feb 26, 2024 4:57 pm

I posit that the blending of the meanings of custom and habit stems at least in part to the fact that you can say things like, "I am accustomed to doing such and such in such a manner." Or, in the negative, "I am unaccustomed to ... ." Rather easy to lose the ac-, no?
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot], Google [Bot] and 71 guests