attire

The noun comes from Middle English atir, itself from the verb atyren, which came from Old French atirier, meaning "to equip." That French word breaks down into a- plus tire, meaning "rank" or "order."

What started as a verb meaning to equip or arrange became, over time, the noun for the clothing itself — the outcome of being put in order.

The old sense of "tire" as rank is akin to German Zier ("ornament") and Old Norse tírr ("glory, renown"), suggesting a shared root idea of standing out or being adorned.