attire
UK/ә'taiә/US
TOEFLGREC2
Definitions
n.
Clothes, especially fine or formal ones
服装，盛装（尤指正式的）
v.
To dress someone in clothes (usually formal)
使穿着，给……穿衣（常正式）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedat- (a form of à, 'to') + tire (tirer, 'pull, arrange') = originally 'to put in order by drawing together,' which came to mean 'to dress.' Your attire is what you've drawn on and arranged. Mostly formal today: formal attire, business attire.
Root tir still carries 8 more wordsWhy It Means This
Attire is the 'dressing' face of the pull root. To arrange cloth on a body is, in the old sense, to 'draw it together' into order. The verb is now rare ('attired in black'), but the noun thrives in dress codes, where attire is the slightly grand word for clothing.
Common Collocations
- 1.formal attire正式服装
- 2.casual attire休闲着装
- 3.business attire商务着装
- 4.evening attire晚礼服
Example Sentences
- 1.
The invitation specified formal attire.
- 2.
Guests arrived in elegant evening attire.
- 3.
He was attired in a crisp white suit.