Each week, we produce a bespoke segment of That’s What They Say, thanks in large part to the thoughtful questions our listeners send us.
One listener recently wrote:
“I’ve been noticing the word ‘bespoke’ used to describe everything from clothes to CRISPR. I had to look it up the first time I saw it. Is this a new trend? I would’ve just said ‘custom’ in the past.”
It’s a great question, and it's also one that Professor Anne Curzan encountered back in 2018. A friend working in biotech asked her why "bespoke" had suddenly become a buzzword. Curzan did some digging and even wrote an article about her findings. Even then though, she realized she was already a little late to the trend.
"Bespoke" may sound modern and trendy, but it actually goes all the way back to Old English. It originates from the verb "bespeak" which could mean “to speak up,” “call out,” or even “speak against.”
By the late 1500s, "bespeak" had taken on a new meaning: “to arrange in advance” or “order ahead.” The Oxford English Dictionary cites an example from 1608: “a lodging bespoken for him.” Another from 1688 mentions “six thousand shoes, which he bespoke.” By the mid-1700s, we start to see examples of "bespoke plays," i.e. plays that were created for, perhaps, a patron.
It's from this meaning of "bespeak" that we get "bespoken" or "bespoke" as an adjective. In 1866, Chambers's Encyclopaedia had this example of the adjective form: “The shoe making trade is divided into two departments - the bespoke, and the ready-made or sale business.”
Around this same time "bespoke" was also often used to describe clothing, particularly custom-made suits for men. That's how we got the now-familiar phrase "a bespoke suit."
So, “bespoke” is not new. However, it is newly popular. To hear that part of our discussion, including why some folks aren't so happy about this word's recent rise in popularity, listen to the audio above.
