completion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəmˈpliː.ʃən/ (UK); /kəmˈpli.ʃən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin complētio (“a filling up”),^[2][3][4] from complēre (“to fill up, complete”) (see complete), from com-, intensive, and plēre (“to fill”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bringing to a desired end, consummation: the late 14th century as complecioun in Etymonline;^[2] the late 15th century in NODE and SOED;^[4][5] the OED's first example is from 1657.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Fulfilment of a prophecy or wish is from 1659.^[6] In conveyancing, completion is the final stage of a sale of property, when the money is paid and the deeds handed over (1794).^[6][7] In American football, a completion is a forward pass caught by a receiver.^[8]

Timeline

• late 14th century – complecioun.^[2]
• 1657 – the action of completing.^[6]
• 1794 – in conveyancing.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of finishing something, or the state of being finished.
2. The final stage in the sale of a property.
3. (American football) A forward pass that is caught.

Word family

• noncompletion
• precompletion

Related words

• complete
• complement
• comply
• plenty
• replete

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin