Music, Mood and Backgrounds: Strój

"Strój" as a root seems kind of synesthetic.  It dances back and forth between different ambient sensory domains.

"Strój" in itself, as a noun, means "dress, attire" or, in the musical sense "tune" or "key."  It is also the second person singular imperative form of verb "stroić," which means "to dress up" or "to tune."

Examples:

strój ludowy - national costume
strój kąpielowy - swimsuit
strój plażowy - beach clothes
strój sportowy - athletic wear
strój wieczorowy - evening wear
strój wizitowy - formal wear
strój żałobny - funeral clothes

Other derivative words:

strojnie - smartly, stylishly (as in "smartly dressed" - "strojnie ubrany")
strojnisia - fashion victim, stylish dresser
strojniś - clotheshorse
strojny - dressy, chic
strojowy - tuning (as in "widełki strojowe" - "tuning fork")

"Nastrój" means "mood, state of mind" or "atmosphere, ambiance" but the verb "nastrajać/nastroić" means "to tune" as in tuning an instrument, tuning a radio, etc.  It also can mean "to adjust."  "Nastrój" is also an imperative form (second person singular) of this verb.  So here the implication is that your mind is "tuned" in a certain way?  I wonder if there is some sort of color implied to complete the synesthesia here?  I find interesting the interplay in the Polish language between music and mood.  But "-strój" as a root seems to imply some kind of background that sets the scene for the particular environment, as you can see in these other words:

Examples:

uroczysty nastrój - solemn mood
w dobrym nastroju - in a good mood
w złym nastroju - in a bad mood

Other derivative words:

nastrojowy - romantic
nastrojowość - romantic atmosphere

"Ustrój" means "system."  The verb "ustrajać/ustroic" means "decorate, adorn."  So I suppose the imperative form "ustrój" implies that your ideological framework is somehow "adorned" with a practical application?

Examples:

ustrój polityczny - political system
ustrój biologiczny - biological system

Other derivative words:

ustrojowy - systemic (the adjective form of "ustrój)
ustrojstwo - contraption, gadget

"Wystrój" means "decoration" or "décor."  It is also an imperative form (second person singular) of the verb "wystroić," which means "to get dressed up/spiffed up." "Wystrojony" is an adjective meaning "dressed up."