Origin: French suffix -ique
Boutique has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
a shop that sells women's clothes and jewelry
"She spent her afternoon browsing through the local boutique to find new dresses and earrings."
A small shop, especially one that sells fashionable clothes, jewelry and the like.
"She spent her afternoon browsing through a charming boutique to find unique earrings and silk blouses."
In plain English: A boutique is a small shop that sells unique, high-quality items instead of mass-produced goods.
"She decided to buy her new dress at a small boutique downtown."
Usage: Use boutique as a noun to describe a small shop specializing in unique fashion items rather than general merchandise. Avoid confusing it with larger department stores when referring to exclusive or custom-made goods for niche markets.
Specialized in bespoke or custom-made products or services for clientele in a niche market.
"The city's most exclusive boutique specializes in hand-tailored suits crafted specifically for individual clients seeking unique fits."
In plain English: When something is described as boutique, it means it is small and unique rather than mass-produced for everyone.
"She decided to buy her new shoes from a boutique store that sells unique designs."
The word boutique comes directly from the French language, where it originally referred to a small shop selling fashionable goods. It entered English as a loanword while remaining closely related in form and meaning to its Germanic cousins like apotheke and bodega.