Etymology
1. 1297, "attendance at court, the company attending," also their livery or uniform, via Anglo-Fr.
siwte, from O.Fr.
suitte "attendance, act of following," from Gallo-Romance
*sequita, fem. of
*sequitus, from L.
secutus, pp. of
sequi "to attend, follow" (see sequel). Meaning "application to a court for justice, lawsuit" is first recorded c.1412. Meaning "set of clothes to be worn together" is attested from c.1420, from notion of the livery or uniform of court attendants (a sense recurded from 1297). As a derisive term for "businessman," it dates from 1979. Meaning "set of playing cards bearing the same symbol" is first attested 1529, also from the notion of livery. Hence,
to follow suit (1680), which is from card playing.
Suitcase first recorded 1902, originally a case for holding a suit of clothes.
2. From Middle English sute, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suite and Old French sieute, siute (modern suite), originally a participle adjective from Vulgar Latin *sequita (for secūta), from Latin sequi (“to follow”), because the component garments "follow each other", i.e. are worn together. See also the doublet suite. Cognate with Italian seguire and Spanish seguir. Related to sue and segue. See: Italian '
seguire', Spanish '
seguir'.