How to say "suit" in Arabic

Root ب-د-ل means 'to exchange, substitute' — a badla is literally 'a change (of clothes)'. Klein's dictionary traditionally connects this to Hebrew ב-ד-ל, which took the same three letters toward 'separating, distinguishing': think הבדלה, the ceremony that separates Shabbat from the week, or סתם הבדל, 'just a difference'. The link is debated, but a suggestive one — swapping one thing for another and telling two things apart turn out to be close cousins.