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customs

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cus⋅tom

  [kuhs-tuhm]
Use customs 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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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