suit: [13] As in the case of its first cousins sect and set, the etymological notion underlying suit is ‘following’. It comes via Anglo-Norman siute from Vulgar Latin *sequita, a noun use of the feminine past participle of *sequere ‘follow’, which in turn was an alteration of Latin sequī ‘follow’ (source of English consequence, persecute, sequence, etc).
It was originally used for a ‘body of followers, retinue’, and it passed from this via a ‘set of things in general’ to (in the 15th century) a ‘set of clothes or armour’. Suite [17] is essentially the same word, but borrowed from modern French. A suitor [13] is etymologically a ‘follower’. => sect, set, sue, suite
suit (n.)
c. 1300, sute, also suete, suite, seute, "a band of followers; a retinue, company;" also "set of matching garments" worn by such persons, "matching livery or uniform;" hence " kind, sort; the same kind, a match;" also "pursuit, chase," and in law, "obligation (of a tenant) to attend court; attendance at court," from Anglo-French suit, siwete, from Old French suite, sieute "pursuit, act of following, hunt; retinue; assembly" (12c., Modern French suite), from Vulgar Latin *sequita, fem. of *sequitus, from Latin secutus, past participle of sequi "to attend, follow" (see sequel).
Legal sense of "lawsuit; legal action" is from mid-14c. Meaning "the wooing of a woman" is from late 15c. Meaning "set of clothes to be worn together" is attested from late 14c., also "matching material or fabric," from notion of the livery or uniform of court attendants. As a derisive term for "businessman," it dates from 1979. Meaning "matched set of objects, number of objects of the same kind or pattern used together" is from late 14c., as is that of "row, series, sequence." Meaning "set of playing cards bearing the same symbol" is first attested 1520s, also ultimately from the notion of livery. To follow suit (1670s) is from card-playing: "play a card of the same suit first played," hence, figuratively, "continue the conduct of a predecessor."
suit (v.)
"be agreeable or convenient, fall in with the views of," 1570s, from suit (n.), perhaps from the notion of "join a retinue clad in like clothes." Earlier "seek out" (mid-15c.); "be becoming" (mid-14c.). Meaning "make agreeable or convenient" is from 1590s. Meaning "provide with clothes" is from 1570s; that of "dress oneself" is from 1590s; with up (adv.) from 1945. Expression suit yourself attested by 1851. Related: Suited; suiting.
双语例句
1. These large institutions make — and change—the rules to suit themselves.
这些大机构总是随意制定规定，而且说变就变。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Choose a soft, medium or firm mattress to suit their individual needs.
针对他们各人不同的需要挑选柔软、软硬适中或者坚硬的床垫。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She was demurely dressed in a black woollen suit.
她穿了一身黑色羊毛套装，显得很庄重。
来自柯林斯例句
4. I saw this nice-looking man in a gray suit.
我见到过这个身着灰色套装的英俊男士。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Now politics is all about the right haircut and a sharp suit.
