Forms: 5 acustum(e, 5–6 acustom(e, 6 accustome, 6– accustom. [a. OFr. acostume-r, later acoustumer, accoustumer (mod. Fr. accoutumer) f. à to + costume, coustume:—late L. cōstūma:—earlier cōstūdinem:—cl. L. consuetūdinem CUSTOM. The vb. accōstūmāre was probably already in use in late pop. L. The prefix a- was refashioned as ac- after L. in 14th c.]
† 1. trans. To make (a thing) customary, habitual, usual or familiar; to practise habitually. Most common in the passive, to be accustomed: to be made customary, to be practised habitually. Obs.
1477. Earl Rivers, Dictes (Caxton), 74. Angre the not sodeynly, for if thou acustume it, it wolle tourne ones to thy harmes.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froissart, I. cliii. 182. [He] was made cardynall … by authoritie of a bull fro the pope, the which hadde nat be acustomed ther before.
1567. Trial of Treasure, in Hazl., Dodsl., III. 265. Hypocrites accustom the like, day by day.
1593. Marlowe, Dido, IV. iii. (1700), 416. Such ceremonious thanks, As parting friends accustom on the shore.
1650. Venner, An Advert., 370. It were much better to abate and attemper their bloud by fasting … than to accustome the opening of a vein.
1768. Blackstone, Comm., III. 88. Whether such tithes be due and accustomed … cannot be determined in the ecclesiastical court.
† b. To use (a thing) customarily or habitually; to frequent as a customer. Obs. rare exc. in pa. pple.
1690. [See under ACCUSTOMED, 2.]
1852. Thackeray, Esmond (1876), I. xiv. 126. An house used by the military in his time as a young man, and accustomed by his Lordship ever since.
† 2. intr. (refl. pron. suppressed). To become familiar, go or act familiarly. To accustom to: to resort to, frequent; to accustom with: to consort or cohabit with. Obs.
1567. Maplet, Greene Forest, 101. All those sea fishes which accustome to Aquitania.
1670. Milton, Hist. Brit., Wks. 1738, II. 33. We with the best man accustom openly; you with the basest commit private adulteries.
3. To habituate, familiarize (a person or thing to (in, into, for, with obs.) something, or to do something).
1478. Liber Niger, in Pegge’s Curialia Misc., 86. It [the office of Barber to the king] hath been much accustomed to one or two well known officers.
1490. Caxton, Eneydos, vii. 31. [They] dyd alle other thynges whiche is acustumed to be doon bytwene neyghbours and good frendes.
1509. Hawes, Past. Pleas., XXXV. ii. Bulwarkes about accustomed for warre.
1535. Coverdale, Ecclus. xxiii. 9. Let not thy mouth be accustomed with swearinge [1611 Accustome not thy mouth to swearing].
1586. Lett. to Earle of Leycester, etc., 14. I haue not accustomed my tongue to be an instrument of untrueth.
1592. Hyrde, trans. Vives, Instr. Chr. Woman, B. iij. What thing soever they have beene accustomed in before, they doe the same afterward.
1664. Evelyn, Sylva, 19. The incomparable use of this noble Tree for shade and delight, into whatever Figure you will accustom them.
1756. Burke, Subl. & B., Wks. I. 160. When we can accustom our eyes to it [danger], a great deal of the apprehension vanishes.
1851. Ruskin, Mod. Painters, I. II. I. ii. § 2. 50. The ear is not accustomed to exercise constantly its functions of hearing; it is accustomed to stillness.
b. refl.
1483. Caxton, G. de la Tour, a vj. It shalle be to yow a lyght thyng yf ye accustomme yow therin.
1561. T. N[orton], Calvin’s Inst., III. 182. We should accustome vs with much abasing of our selues, reuerently to looke vp vnto the mightinesse of god.
1585. Abp. Sandys, Serm. (1841), 172. If we accustom ourselves with sinning … our custom will wax to be our nature.
1718. Lady M. W. Montague, Lett., I. xxxii. 112. I cannot enough accustom myself to this fashion to find any beauty in it.
1754. Earl of Chatham, Lett. to Nephew, v. 39. Towards servants, never accustom yourself to rough and passionate language.
Mod. She soon accustomed herself to her new surroundings.
† c. intr. (from refl.) To be wont, to use, to have the habit to do something. Obs.
1571. Jewel, on 1 Thess. iv. 6 (1611), 78. The mouth that accustometh to lie slaieth the soule.
1602. Carew, Cornwall, 27 b. Some accustomed to burne it on heapes in pits at the cliffe side.
1649. Milton, Eikonokl., Pref. Kings, who ever have accustom’d from the cradle to use thir will onely as thir right hand.
1668. Evelyn, Mem. (1857), III. 209. Those, therefore, who … accustom to wash their heads, instead of powdering, would doubtless find the benefit of it.
d. pass. To be habituated, to be in the habit, to be wont or used.
1534. Ld. Berners, Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546), B 8 b. The auncient Romayn historiens were not accustomed to write the lyues of the Emperours fathers.
1611. Bible, Jer. xiii. 23. Then may ye also doe good, that are accustomed to doe euill.
1788. Reid, Active Powers, I. vii. 530. We are accustomed to call the first the cause, and the last the effect.
1846. Mill, Logic, II. v. § 6 (1868), 269. Were we not well accustomed to see the sun and moon move.
