Induement

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The action of dressing oneself in clothes or putting on a garment
2. The process of donning or clothing oneself with a particular outfit or piece of apparel
3. The act of wearing or dressing in clothing, especially in a formal or deliberate manner

Etymology: "Induement" is a rare word for an article of clothing or a quality with which someone is endowed, formed by adding the suffix "-ment" to "indue," an older verb meaning to clothe or to put something on a person. The suffix "-ment" turns verbs into nouns denoting the act, result or means of an action, so the word sits alongside related forms such as "indument" and "enduement," which are built on the same pattern with the same sense of clothing or bestowing. The verb "indue" comes from the Latin "induere," meaning to put on or to clothe, and it reached English in its literal sense of dressing someone in garments. Its figurative sense, of endowing a person with a quality or gift, grew out of that clothing image, so the noun carries the same metaphor: a thing put on, whether cloth or talent.