completely

Etymology

It is formed from English complete + -ly.^[2][3][4] The adjective is from Old French complet (“full”) or directly from Latin complētus, the past participle of compleō (“to fill up”), from com-, here probably intensive, and pleō (“to fill”), from Proto-Indo-European *pele- (“to fill”).^[3] The OED compares the adjective's own use as an adverb.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a complete manner, fully or entirely: about 1425, in an English translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie.^[2] Etymonline likewise dates it to the early 15th century, with the senses "fully, entirely, wholly".^[3]

Semantic evolution

The adverb has kept close to the adjective: the OED gives it a single sense from the first record on, running from "fully, perfectly" to "entirely, wholly, thoroughly".^[2] Johnson (1755) glossed it "Fully; perfectly", quoting Blackmore's "so completely full".^[4] Merriam-Webster separates two nuances, "so as to be complete", as of something fully equipped, and "to a complete degree".^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – fully, perfectly; entirely, wholly.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. So as to be complete, with nothing lacking: a completely equipped kitchen.^[5][2]
2. To the fullest degree; entirely, wholly: The boat turned completely over.^[5][2][3]

Related words

• complete
• completion

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster