▪ I. custom, n.
(ˈkʌstəm)
Forms: 2–7 custume, custome, (3 kustume), 3–7 costome, (4 -toum, -tum, kostome), 4–7 custum, costom, (5 customme, costeme, 5–6 costume, 6 coustome, 4– custom.
[a. OF. custume, costume 11–12th c. (later coustume, now coutume) from Romanic *costumne:—L. *costūmen, substituted for *costudne:—L. consuētūdinem. In other Romanic forms, Pr. costum, It. and Pg. costume, Sp. costumbre, masc., there is change of gender after ns. in -ūmen; while Pr. costuma, cosdumna, It. costuma, f. med.L. coustuma, show retention of gender with assimilation of the ending to -a nouns. costume is another form of the same word, of recent adoption from It., through Fr.]
1. a. A habitual or usual practice; common way of acting; usage, fashion, habit (either of an individual or of a community).
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 75 Bereȝe us wið alle iuele customes. Ibid. 89 It is custume þat ech chirchsocne goð þis dai a procession. c 1340 Hampole Psalter xxi. 16 As hundes folus ther custom in berkyng & bitynge. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2010 On þat knew þe kostome of þe cuntre of grece. c 1450 tr. T. à Kempis' Imit. i. xiv, Olde custom is harde to breke. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 162 b, Let vs not come to y⊇ chirche by vse & custome, as the oxe to his stalle. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. B iij, Other fourmes of salutations are also in custome. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. iv. 15 It is a Custome More honour'd in the breach, then the obseruance. 1683 Evelyn Diary 12 Feb., Much offended at the novel costome of burying every one within the body of the Church. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & Phil. ii. Wks. I. 309 Common custom is the standard of propriety in language. 1732 ― Alciphr. v. §12 The general manners and customs of those people. 1719 Young Revenge iv. i, I went into the garden, As is my custom. 1833 H. Martineau Briery Creek iii. 46 The settlers..followed the old custom..of holding their market on a Saturday. 1859 Mill Liberty 126 The despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement. |
b. The practising of anything habitually; the being or becoming accustomed.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 78 Whan a synner commeth to the custome of synne, than he falleth to contempte. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices i. (1540) 27 Custome and practyse must be vsed, that we may be as good accompters of our offyces. 1608 Bp. Hall Char. Virtues & V. ii. 94 Custome of sinne hath wrought this senslesnesse. 1867 J. Ingelow Dreams that came true vii, Custom makes all things easy. |
† c. of custom: according to custom, usually, as usual; also
adjectivally, usual, customary.
Obs.| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 124 A man þat usiþ of custum sich a maner dietynge. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 74 It hathe bene of ane olde costome that sent Gorge shulde be kepte holy day. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 111 For some things there be which of custome I shake off. 1688 Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 296, 29th Nov. I went to the Royal Society. We..dined together as of custom. |
† d. custom of women (
med.L.
consuetudo): menstruation.
Obs.| 1611 Bible Gen. xxxi. 35 The custome of women is vpon mee. 1705 W. Bosman Guinea 210 When the Custom of Women is upon the Female Sex, they are..esteemed unclean. |
e. Applied to specific usages of particular peoples;
e.g. the periodical massacres in Dahome.
| 1820 Q. Rev. XXII. 296 Dahomeans do not make war to make slaves, but to make prisoners to kill at the Customs. 1881 Standard 12 Nov. 5/1 The Ashantis, like the Dahomeyans, have their ‘customs’ or periodical executions. |
2. Law. An established usage which by long continuance has acquired the force of a law or right,
esp. the established usage of a particular locality, trade, society, or the like.
In French history applied to the special usages of different provinces and districts which had grown into a local body of law, as the
custom of Normandy,
custom of Paris, etc.
| c 1400 Test. Love iii. (1560) 293 b/1 Custome is of commen usage by length of time used, and custome nat write is usage. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 4 Oxganges, rentes, or suche other customes as the tenauntes vse. a 1626 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1635) 37 Having..gained a custome by use of occupying their lands, they now are called coppy holders. 1680 Morden Geog. Rect. (1685) 22 The Common Law of England is a Collection of the General Common Custom, and Usages of the Kingdom. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 195 A Statute has the express Consent of the People, whereas a Custom has only their tacit agreement to it. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 98 Declaring, that the will of the lord was to be interpreted by the custom of the manor. 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. II. 409 Stafford..This Town retains the antient Custom of Borough English. 1818 Cruise Digest. (ed. 2) I. 360 Every species of waste..not warranted by the custom of the manor. 1864 Kirk Chas. Bold I. ii. ii. 500 The ‘customs’ of Liége—that is to say its constitution and its laws—were..forever abrogated. |
† 3. Customary service due by feudal tenants to their lord; customary rent paid in kind or in money; any customary tax or tribute paid to a lord or ruler.
Obs. in actual use.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 111 Ne costom no seruise of þing þat he forgaf. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7984 The monkes possessiouns made he Fra all seruice and customes fre. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. Prol., What rentes, customes, and seruice he ought to haue of them [the tenants]. 1535 Coverdale Ezra iv. 13 Then shal not they geue tribute, toll, and yearly custome. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iv. (1682) 152 He disannulled all the exactions..upon his tributary Christian subjects; and cancelled the custom or tythe of their male children. 1641 Termes de la Ley 97 Custome is also used..for such services as Tenants of a Manor owe unto their Lord. c 1730 Burt Lett. N. Scotl. (1818) II. 52 Their rent is chiefly paid in kind..such as barley, oatmeal, and what they call customs, as sheep, lambs, poultry, butter, &c. |
4. a. Tribute, toll, impost, or duty, levied by the lord or local authority upon commodities on their way to market;
esp. that levied in the name of the king or sovereign authority upon merchandise exported from or imported into his dominions; now levied only upon imports from foreign countries.
the Customs: the duties levied upon imports as a branch of the public revenue; the department of the Civil Service employed in levying these duties. (Now rarely in singular, and never with
a.)
In this sense the
OE. name was
toll (
Ger. zoll);
consuetudo occurs in Magna Carta,
custuma in
med.L. passim. In early times the customs were distinguished as
magna custuma, ‘the great custom’, levied upon exports and imports, and
parva custuma, ‘the little custom’, levied upon goods taken to market within the realm.
| [c 1325 Iter Camerarii i. (Sc. Statutes), Braxiatores, carnifices, custumarios magne et parue custume. 15th c. Sc. transl. Breustaris, fleschewaris, custumaris alswel of greit custom as of small custum.] c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xvi. 75 Þe emperour takez mare of þat citee [Tabreez] to customez of marchandise þan þe ricchest Cristen king..may dispend. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 111 Custum, kyngys dute, custuma. 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 8 Pream., Paying less Custume for the Lokkys then for the hole wollyn Flese. 1534 Tindale Matt. ix. 9 He sawe a man syt a receyuinge of custome, named Mathew. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 271 Customes are these which are paide of Merchaundises, and of those things which are either carried out or brought in. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 152 Custumers of the litill custum (that is, of gudes cumand to the market). 1669–70 Marvell Corr. cxl. Wks. II. 311 Setting a high custom upon all forain Corn. 1710 Swift Jrnl. Stella Oct. 10 §19 The handkerchiefs will be put in some friend's pocket, not to pay custom. 1766 C. Leadbetter Royal Gauger (ed. 6) ii. ix. 333 The Commissioners of the Customs are to pay into the Exchequer the remaining Part of the Produce of such Seizure made by the Officers of the Customs. 1838–42 Arnold Hist. Rome (1846) III. xliii. 114 Collectors of customs and port duties. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. ix. 196 Among the permanent taxes, the most considerable are the customs..and the excise duty. |
b. customs (
freq. without article), the area at a seaport, airport, etc., where goods, luggage, and other items are examined and customs duties levied.
| 1921 C. Crow Travelers' Handbk. China (ed. 3) 8 Travelers should note that..if goods other than personal effects are taken out of the country it is necessary to pass them through the customs before they can be accepted by the shipping companies. 1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train i. i. 7 He was the first through customs. 1966 T. Frisby There's Girl in my Soup iii. 48 How on earth did you have the nerve to bring all those [cigarettes] through the customs. 1971 V. Eliot in T. S. Eliot Waste Land Draft p. x, He asked Quinn to send a clerk to meet Eliot at the dock and see him through customs. 1984 M. Hanssen E for Additives 8 Although it is not very obvious when you go through Customs, a stated objective of the European Economic Community..is to harmonize laws. |
5. The practice of customarily resorting to a particular shop, place of entertainment, etc. to make purchases or give orders; business patronage or support.
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iii. 99 Go hop me ouer euery kennell home, For you shall hop without my custome sir. 1664 Pepys Diary 31 Mar., A tailor, whom I have presented my custom. 1669 Bunyan Holy Citie 17 What wonderful custom the Church of God at this day shall have among all sorts of People, for her Heavenly Treasures. 1729 Swift Modest Proposal, This food would likewise bring great Custom to taverns. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm vii. 88 They ran in debt to the grocer till he refused their custom. 1893 Law Times XCV. 5/2 Other persons who had been customers discontinued their custom. |
6. a. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 1)
custom-generated,
custom-governed adjs.; (sense 2–3)
custom law,
custom-service; (sense 4)
custom-collector,
custom-gatherer;
customs duties,
customs laws,
customs officer,
customs official,
customs union, etc.;
custom-house; (sense 5)
custom-shrunk adj.,
custom-work;
custom-built,
-made adjs., built or made to order or to measure; so
custom-build v. trans.;
† custom-day, ? a day on which a customary service is rendered by a tenant;
custom-free a., free from custom, toll, or tribute; free from custom duty;
custom-mill, (
a) a mill belonging to a feudal proprietor at which his tenants are obliged to grind their corn, paying ‘custom’ for the accommodation; (
b) a mill that grinds for customers;
custom-office = custom-house;
† custom-sick a., morbidly subject to custom or habit;
custom smelter U.S., a smelter who treats rock or ore for customers.
| 1960 Design 29 Feb., A willingness to accept a new situation and to *custom build the standards for it. |
| 1925 Art & Publicity 36 (Advt.), *Custom-built exclusiveness without excessive cost. 1955 T. Sterling Evil of Day vii. 77 A custom built Rolls Royce cloud. 1957 M. Sharp Eye of Love iii. 33 His good custom-built suit. |
| c 1688–9 in Maidment Sc. Pasquils (1868) 263 Our new kings vicegerent..More fit to be a factor or *custome collector. |
| 1518 Rental Bk. in Trans. Kilkenny Archæol. Soc. Ser. ii. IV. 123 A *custom day on every howse to ripp bind & drawe. |
| 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. v. (1852) 234 *Customs duties existed in England previously to the Conquest. 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 128 The customs duties levied upon wine, spirits, tobacco..when they are imported. |
| a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 80 To take up a Degree, With all the Learning to it, *Custom-free. 1810 in Risdon's Surv. Devon App. 17 Towns..free from Tax and Toll, such as we..call Custom-free. |
| 1656 Trapp Comm. Luke iii. 12 These [publicans] were toll-takers, *custom-gatherers for the Romans. |
| 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 71 The..*Custome law, that (by the particular custome of Manors and Towns) lands should be divided by the custome of Gavel kinde. |
| 1855 Chicago Weekly Times 16 Jan. 1/2 [There] may be found a large and splendid assortment of *custom made boots and shoes. 1959 Observer 8 Mar. 15/5 Because of the peculiar idiosyncrasies of faces they [sc. spectacle frames] often need to be custom-made. |
| 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3898/4 The Manor and Royalty of Bovey-Tracy, with the Fairs, Markets, and *Custom Mills. 1888 Eissler Metal. Gold 33 At custom-mills the quartz is delivered in wagons. |
| 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 25 The Company's *custom-offices on the opposite bank. |
| 1676 Phillips Purch. Pattern 2 What *Custom-service hath been done of old By those who formerly the same did hold. |
| 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. i. ii. 85 What with the gallowes, and what with pouerty, I am *Custom-shrunke. |
| 1634 W. Wood New Eng. Prosp. ii. iv, They are not a little phantasticall or *custom-sick in this particular. |
| 1880 G. T. Ingham Digging Gold 268 There is at Galena a small *custom smelter. 1963 Times 22 Apr. (Zinc Suppl.) p. ii/1 The custom smelters (smelters without their own mines). |
| 1705 in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Commission (1897) App. vi. 11 The Justices of the Peace are to assist the *customs-officers. |
| 1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 29 But here, even a *customs-official is still vulnerable. |
| 1903 ‘Vigilans sed æquus’ German Ambitions iv. 55 The Hague Courant, which advocated a *Customs Union with Germany. 1956 Planning XXII. 224 Three small nations—Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg—have formed Benelux, a customs union for nearly everything except agricultural products. |
| 1884 N.Y. Herald 27 Oct. 746 Wanted—tailoress on first class *custom work. |
b. attrib. passing into
adj. Designating articles made to measure or to order, or places where such articles are made, or people producing work of this kind;
= bespoke ppl. a. Also
fig. Hence as
advb., in combs., as
custom-fitted,
custom-mixed,
custom-tailored adjs. Cf. custom-built,
-made above. Chiefly
U.S.| 1830 Williams's N.-Y. Ann. Reg. 163 There are no manufactories of cotton or woollen but such as are used for custom work. 1851 C. Cist Sk. Cincinnati 175 Fine and coarse work for foreign markets, and custom work for home consumption. Ibid. 176 Two-thirds of these [shoes] at least, are made here, wholesale, or at custom shops. 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 269/3 For higher priced clothing, we refer you to our custom tailoring department, where we make clothing to order in any size and style desired. 1903 N.Y. Times 26 Sept. 6 (Advt.), Custom tailors charge for suits like these $35. 1905 Washington Star 24 Nov. 5 (Advt.), Double or Single-Breasted Sacks, as perfect-fitting as the finest custom garments. 1943 J. P. Marquand So Little Time (1944) iv. 31 He made Jeffrey conscious of his own custom-tailored suit, of the shine on his brown low shoes and the crease in his trousers. 1955 T. Sterling Evil of Day xxi. 207 He had designed the murder for one woman and no other. It was a perfect custom fit. 1957 W. H. Whyte Organization Man xxiii. 299 A small area with ‘custom’ houses. 1959 Sunday Express 1 Feb. 19/4 His custom-tailored suit. 1961 M. Beadle These Ruins are Inhabited (1963) iv. 51 An awesome superstructure of custom-fitted plugs and adaptors. 1964 Punch 23 Sept. 456/3 Custom-mixed after-shave lotion. 1968 Listener 12 Sept. 331/1 The custom cars, whose flamboyant shapes are public property while their mechanical niceties are reserved for the initiated. |
▪ II. † custom, v. Obs. or
arch. (
ˈkʌstəm)
[a. OF. costumer, coustumer, f. costume, coustume custom.] 1. trans. To render (a thing) customary or usual, to practise habitually; usually
pass. to be customary or usual;
= accustom 1.
| 1394 Proclam. in York Myst. Introd. 34 Yat yai come furth in array and in ye manere as it has been vsed and customed before yis time. 1483 Cath. Angl. 87 To Custome or to make Custome, guadiare, ritare, jnguadiare. c 1500 Melusine xxi. 114 The patrons made theire recommendacions to god as customed it is. 1626 W. Sclater Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 175 Let him iterate it, of intolerable it becomes graue onely..custome it, it proues..insensible. |
2. To accustom, habituate (oneself or another).
| c 1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) G ij, Nor custome not thy selfe to boste. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Accoustumer, to custome, to enure. s'Accoustumer, to vse, to custome himselfe. 1633 J. Done Hist. Septuagint 92 Those that custome and acost themselves with men Wise and Prudent. 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 73 Custom thyself to be invoked by vows. |
b. pass. To be accustomed, wont, or used (
to do something).
| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour cxxxviii. 195 Yf he be custommed to doo euylle. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxxv. 456 The trybute that is coustomyd to be payed in this citye. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 29 a, He is costumed to eat unnaturall and unkinde meates. 1674 Govt. Tongue ix. §15 (1684) 154 As a horse [turns]..into that inn to which he is customed. |
c. intr. (in same sense as b).
rare.
| c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. cxxix. (1869) 68, I hadde not customed to be armed. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. ii. 7 On a Bridge he custometh to fight. |
3. trans. To pay duty or toll on; to pass through the custom-house.
| 1494 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 13 Every Mare so shipped ere they be customed. c 1592 Marlowe Jew of Malta i. 1, Thy ships are safe..the merchants..have sent me to know whether yourself will come and custom them. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 238 When they have customed their goods. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 152 They search not the shippes, for wooll, or gudes not custumed. 1720 Lond. Gaz. No. 5851/3 If any Person shall Custom any Goods of any Stranger..whereby the King loseth his Custom. |
b. To levy duty or toll upon.
rare.
| 1611 Heywood Golden Age iv. i, We custom them, And they enrich our coffers. |
4. To bestow one's custom on; to deal with (a person) or at (a shop); to frequent as a customer.
| 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xiii. §7. 52 If a shooemaker should haue no shooes in his shoppe, but onely worke, as hee is bespoken, hee should bee weakely customed. 1639 Mayne City Match ii. v, We..custom'd your house And help'd away your victuals. 1681 P. Rycaut Critick 121 When they perceived the Shop so well customed by the famous Themistocles. |