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complexion

Etymology and origin of the English word complexion

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəmˈplɛkʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English complexioun (“bodily constitution”), borrowed from Old French complexion (“combination of humours”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Late Latin complexiō (“physical constitution, balance of the humours”),[2][3][4][6] from Latin complexiō “combination”,[2][3][4][5] from complectī “to embrace, encompass”,[2][3][4][5] from com- and plectere “to weave, plait”.[4] It is related to complex.[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bodily habit or constitution (1340),[7][3][4] in medieval physiology made up of the four qualities hot, cold, moist and dry, or of the four humours.[7][4][5]

Semantic evolution

In medieval medicine the colour of the face was thought to show the balance of humours, and so the person's temperament and health.[4][3] From this the word came to mean the natural colour and appearance of the skin of the face (before 1450 in Barnhart; 1568 in the OED).[3][7][4] It also meant temperament or disposition (c. 1386), now obsolete,[7] and survives in the figurative sense of the general character or aspect of something, as in put a different complexion on things.[2][6][4]

Timeline

  • 1340 – bodily constitution.[7][3]
  • c. 1386 – the combination of the four qualities; temperament.[7]
  • before 1450 – the colour of the face (Barnhart).[3]
  • 1568 – the colour and texture of the skin (OED).[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The natural colour, texture and appearance of the skin, especially of the face.
  2. General character, aspect or appearance, as in changed the complexion of the debate.
  3. Viewpoint or attitude, as in political complexion.
  4. (historical) The combination of the four humours or qualities thought in medieval physiology to determine a person's constitution and temperament.

Word family

  • complexioned
  • complect
  • complex
  • perplex
  • plait
  • temperament

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Complexion.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/complexion. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·