cosplay

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒz.pleɪ/ / /ˈkɒs.pleɪ/ / /ˈkɑz.pleɪ/

Etymology: Borrowed from Japanese コスプレ (kosupure), which is a clipping of コスチュームプレイ (kosuchūmu purei), from a compound of English costume + play.

The art or practice of costuming oneself as a (usually fictional) character.
“Men, of course, also participate in cosplay and all its attending events, but women make up the greater numbers.”
“The environments and spaces created for and by cosplay provide cosplayers with a variety of spaces for social interactions.”
A skit or instance of this art or practice.
“Central to the activity of cosplay is elaborate costuming, though some cosplays are enacted using a game system.”
“According to a student from France who went to Japan to study Japanese, "Universities in France are like Halloween when otaku students engage in these cosplays. They take Japanese language because of anime, but they see after a few classes that it's hard and not fun. Many drop out" (author interview, 2009).”

Etymology: Borrowed from Japanese コスプレ (kosupure), which is a clipping of コスチュームプレイ (kosuchūmu purei), from a compound of English costume + play.

To costume oneself as a character.
“She cosplayed at the manga convention.”
“Senior politicians have cosplayed as train drivers, ambulance workers, Border Force officials – the list goes on.”
To costume oneself as (a character).
“She cosplayed Sailor Moon at the manga convention.”
To adopt the behavior and mannerisms of another.
“Why has the Russian Federation decided to cosplay the Nazi Third Reich by attacking the peaceful neighboring state and plunging the region into war?”
“On weekends, there was usually a party. Her classmates, free from their wealthy families, cosplayed as struggling intellectuals.”