couture

See also: Couture

English

Etymology

Ellipsis of haute couture, ultimately from French couture.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kuːˈtjʊə/, /kuːˈtʃʊə/
• (US) enPR: ko͞o-to͝orʹ, IPA^(key): /kuˈtʊɹ/
• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ)

Noun

couture (countable and uncountable, plural coutures)

1. (fashion) The production of high-end, custom-made clothing.
   • 2007, Cally Blackman, 100 Years of Fashion Illustration‎^[1], →ISBN, page 166:

     It was the branding of these products, rather than the couture itself, that would become the foundation of the industry, generating huge global sales by the last quarter of the century.

   • 2018 June 30, Vanessa Friedman, “Why We Cover High Fashion”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Anyway, there are only a few hundred clients in the world who regularly buy couture, including Middle Eastern royalty and American businesswomen.

Derived terms

• couturist
• couture house

Related terms

• couturier
• couturial
• haute couture

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French costure, from Vulgar Latin *cōnsutūra, from Latin cōnsūtus, from cōnsuō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku.tyʁ/

• Audio:

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Noun

couture f (plural coutures)

1. sewing
2. dressmaking
3. seam
4. (medical) stitches
5. scar

Derived terms

• bas couture
• battre à plate couture
• couturier
• haute couture

Related terms

• coudre
• cousu

Descendants

• English: couture

Further reading

• “couture”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.