Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

Custom

 - 6 dictionary results
Child Halloween Costumes
15,000 Costumes, All Sizes & Styles Top Quality. Same Day Shipping!
BuyCostumes.com
Custom Map Keepsakes
Choose any location worldwide Pendants, keychains, pins & magnets
XOHandworks.etsy.com

cus⋅tom

  [kuhs-tuhm]
Use Custom in a Sentence
–noun
1. a habitual practice; the usual way of acting in given circumstances.
2. habits or usages collectively; convention.
3. a practice so long established that it has the force of law.
4. such practices collectively.
5. Sociology. a group pattern of habitual activity usually transmitted from one generation to another.
6. toll; duty.
7. customs,
a. (used with a singular or plural verb) duties imposed by law on imported or, less commonly, exported goods.
b. (used with a singular verb) the government department that collects these duties.
c. (used with a singular verb) the section of an airport, station, etc., where baggage is checked for contraband and for goods subject to duty.
8. regular patronage of a particular shop, restaurant, etc.
9. the customers or patrons of a business firm, collectively.
10. the aggregate of customers.
11. (in medieval Europe) a customary tax, tribute, or service owed by peasants to their lord.
–adjective
12. made specially for individual customers: custom shoes.
13. dealing in things so made, or doing work to order: a custom tailor.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME custume < AF; OF costume < VL *co(n)s(uē)tūmin-, r. L consuētūdin- (s. of consuētūdō), equiv. to consuēt(us) accustomed, ptp. of consuēscere (con- con- + suē- (akin to suus one's own) + -tus ptp. suffix) + -ūdin- n. suffix; cf. costume

Synonyms:
1, 2. Custom, habit, practice mean an established way of doing things. Custom, applied to a community or to an individual, implies a more or less permanent continuance of a social usage: It is the custom to give gifts at Christmas time. Habit, applied particularly to an individual, implies such repetition of the same action as to develop a natural, spontaneous, or rooted tendency or inclination to perform it: to make a habit of reading the newspapers. Practice applies to a set of fixed habits or an ordered procedure in conducting activities: It is his practice to verify all statements.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Custom
Child Halloween Costumes
15,000 Costumes, All Sizes & Styles Top Quality. Same Day Shipping!
BuyCostumes.com
Custom Map Keepsakes
Choose any location worldwide Pendants, keychains, pins & magnets
XOHandworks.etsy.com
cus·tom   (kŭs'təm)   
n.  

  1. A practice followed by people of a particular group or region.

  2. A habitual practice of a person: my custom of reading a little before sleep. See Synonyms at habit.

  3. Law A common tradition or usage so long established that it has the force or validity of law.

    1. Habitual patronage, as of a store.

    2. Habitual customers; patrons.

    3. Duties or taxes imposed on imported and, less commonly, exported goods.

    4. (used with a sing. verb) The governmental agency authorized to collect these duties.

    5. (used with a sing. verb) The procedure for inspecting goods and baggage entering a country.

  5. customs

    1. Duties or taxes imposed on imported and, less commonly, exported goods.

    2. (used with a sing. verb) The governmental agency authorized to collect these duties.

    3. (used with a sing. verb) The procedure for inspecting goods and baggage entering a country.

  6. Tribute, service, or rent paid by a feudal tenant to a lord.

adj.  

  1. Made to order.

  2. Specializing in the making or selling of made-to-order goods: a custom tailor.


[Middle English custume, from Old French costume, from Latin cōnsuētūdō, cōnsuētūdin-, from cōnsuētus, past participle of cōnsuēscere, to accustom : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + suēscere, to become accustomed; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

custom 
c.1200, "habitual practice," from O.Fr. costume, from V.L. *consuetumen, from L. consuetudinem, acc. of consuetudo "habit or usage," from consuetus, pp. of consuescere "accustom," from com- intens. prefix + suescere "become used to, accustom oneself," related to sui, gen. of suus "oneself," from PIE *swe- "oneself" (see idiom). Replaced O.E. þeaw. Sense of a "regular" toll or tax on goods is c.1325. Customer (14c.) meant "customs official" before meaning switched to "buyer" (first attested 1409). Customary is from 1523.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: cus·tom
Function: noun
1 : a practice common to many or to a particular place or institution; especially : a long-established practice that is generally recognized as having the force of law —see also SECTION 1983 —compare USAGE
2 plural a : duties, tolls, or imposts imposed by the law of a country on imports or exports bFunction: usually singular in construction
: the agency, establishment, or procedure for collecting such customs
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

custom
(Or "bespoke") An adjective describing any product that is special in some way, individually created for a specific user or system, as opposed to generic or off-the-shelf.
(2008-06-25)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Bible Dictionary

Custom

a tax imposed by the Romans. The tax-gatherers were termed publicans (q.v.), who had their stations at the gates of cities, and in the public highways, and at the place set apart for that purpose, called the "receipt of custom" (Matt.9: 9; Mark 2:14), where they collected the money that was to be paid on certain goods (Matt.17:25). These publicans were tempted to exact more from the people than was lawful, and were, in consequence of their extortions, objects of great hatred. The Pharisees would have no intercourse with them (Matt.5:46, 47; 9:10, 11). A tax or tribute (q.v.) of half a shekel was annually paid by every adult Jew for the temple. It had to be paid in Jewish coin (Matt. 22:17-19; Mark 12:14, 15). Money-changers (q.v.) were necessary, to enable the Jews who came up to Jerusalem at the feasts to exchange their foreign coin for Jewish money; but as it was forbidden by the law to carry on such a traffic for emolument (Deut. 23:19, 20), our Lord drove them from the temple (Matt. 21:12: Mark 11:15).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Custom on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way