I. ˈgīz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English gise, guise, from Old French guise, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wīsa manner, style — more at wise (manner)
1. : form or style of dress : costume
wondered if she should appear in such disordered guise
especially : dress that is unexpected on or foreign to the wearer
the lady clad in peasant guise
2. archaic
a. : manner , style , fashion , way
it never was our guise to slight the poor — Alexander Pope
b. : customary course or way (as of speaking or behaving)
3.
a. : external appearance
concerned more with the guise than the inner worth of his product
broadly : shape , semblance , aspect
a fiend in frightful guise
b. : a superficial seeming : an artful or simulated appearance (as of propriety or worth)
that such misconduct should take the guise of religious ritual is shameful
tricked the widow in the guise of a friend of her late husband
4. obs Scotland : a masked play or masquerade party
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English gysen, from gyse, gise (n.)
transitive verb
: dress , arrange ; usually : to provide with a foreign guise : disguise
the three younger children guised as angels
intransitive verb
now dialect Britain : to appear in disguise especially as a mummer : go mumming