Definition of "accouterment"
accouterment
noun
plural accouterments
(military, chiefly in the plural) A soldier's equipment, other than weapons and uniform.
Quotations
He [Manolo] was supposed to have left Spain while he was doing his military service, that is to say he was in the cavalry and he went across the border, and sold his horse and his accoutrement, and so had enough money to come to Paris and be a sculptor.
1933, Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas
(chiefly in the plural) An article of clothing or equipment, in particular when used as an accessory.
Quotations
To me ſhe's married, not vnto my cloathes: / Could I repaire what ſhe will weare in me, / As I can change theſe poore accoutrements, / 'Twere well for Kate, and better for my ſelfe.
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene ii], page 219, column 2
And then from beyond the blank wall beside which I lay I heard the shuffling of feet, the snarling of grim beasts, the clank of metal accouterments, and the heavy breathing of a man.
1913 January–May, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Gods of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co.; republished as “Thuvia”, in The Gods of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., 1918 September, page 56
An essential accoutrement to participation in the daily grind of New York is a briefcase, and any self-respecting office slave eventually amasses a collection, from canvas bags to stylish leather-covered boxes.
1988 September 26, William Stockton, “Giving a New Twist to the Rat Race”, in The New York Times
They used rock'n'roll as a weapon against itself. With all instruments but guitar, bass, drums, and voice written off as effete, as elitist accoutrements of a professionalist cult of technique, it was music best suited to anger and frustration, […]
1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009
Partly for this reason, the washing machine–like dishwashers after the mid-1970s–remained associated in commercial imagery with the domestic accoutrements of the affluent middle class.
2005, Tony Judt, “The Age of Affluence”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010
(by extension) An identifying yet superficial characteristic.
Quotations
By the summer of 1964 they had achieved the bigger house on the better street and the familiar accouterments of a family on its way up: the $30,000 a year, the three children for the Christmas card, the picture window, the family room, […]
1968, Joan Didion, “Life Styles in the Golden Land”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem
But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which [Justin] Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM accouterments, […]
2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 6 August 2020
(archaic) The act of accoutering; furnishing.