complete

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəmˈpliːt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English complet, borrowed from Old French complet (“full, complete”) or directly borrowed from Latin complētus,^[2][3][4] past participle of compleō (“to fill up, finish, fulfil”),^[2][5] from com-, here intensive, and pleō (“to fill”),^[5][3] from Proto-Indo-European *pele- (“to fill”),^[2][5] the root of full.^[3][6] Latin complēre also gave comply, compliment and complement.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Perfect in nature, without defect: about 1380, in Wycliffe's writings,^[8][3] or the late 14th century, “having no deficiency; finished, ended”.^[2] Of a period of time, “that has run its full course”, it is from about 1386.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The verb “to make complete, bring to an end; fulfil” is from the late 14th century,^[2] about 1390 in Barnhart,^[3] though the OED's first quotation is from 1530.^[8] Of persons, “fully equipped, accomplished”, it is from 1526,^[8][9] and the old spelling compleat was revived in imitation of Walton's The Compleat Angler.^[8][4] “Realized in its full extent, thorough”, as in a complete surprise, is from 1645.^[8][9] In logic and mathematics a complete system is from 1932.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – perfect (Wycliffe).^[8][3]
• c. 1386 – of time, run its full course.^[8]
• c. 1390 – verb, to finish.^[3]
• 1526 – of persons, accomplished.^[8]
• 1645 – thorough, total.^[8]
• 1932 – in logic and mathematics.^[8]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Having all its necessary parts; entire.
2. Finished; concluded.
3. Absolute, total: a complete stranger.
4. Skilled, accomplished; thorough.
5. (botany) Of a flower, having sepals, petals, stamens and pistils.

Verb

1. To bring to an end; to finish.
2. To make whole, with all necessary parts.
3. To fill in a form.

Word family

• completely
• completeness
• completive
• completable
• completedness
• completer
• completively
• subcomplete

Related words

• accomplish
• complement
• completion
• comply
• deplete
• replete
• full
• plenty
• compliment

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that complete is sometimes held to be an absolute term, not to be compared, but that most of its Usage Panel accepts the most complete treatment of the subject.^[10] It compares the verb with close, end, finish, conclude and terminate.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin