complet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ̃.plɛ/^[1]

Forms

complet (feminine complète, masculine plural complets, feminine plural complètes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin complētus (“filled; finished”), the past participle of compleō (“to fill up; to finish”), formed from com- and pleō (“to fill”).^[2][3][4] The noun meaning “suit” is short for habit complet or costume complet.^[3][5] Cognate with Spanish completo and Italian completo.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg and Rey date it to about 1300; the TLFi's first text is a royal account of Navarre (1367) with annee complete, a full year.^[4][3][2] The word was rare until the 17th century.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It describes what lacks none of its parts, in particular a food or an organism, and, from the 16th century a person who has all the traits of their kind;^[3][2] Benserade's fou complet (before 1691) shows the pejorative use.^[3][2] The noun appears in 1740 (the Académie's le complet d'un régiment), with au complet in 1823 (Las Cases).^[2][3] The suit, un complet, is recorded in 1874; the GLLF finds the noun in the middle of the 17th century for a garment with all its pieces.^[3][5][7] Around 1900 complet also named a woman's matching outfit.^[8] The sense has aged, as has complet-veston.^[3] Littré records être complet, to be drunk, as familiar.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – First recorded.^[4][3]
• 1367 – Annee complete.^[2]
• Before 1691 – Fou complet, in Benserade.^[2]
• 1740 – The noun, in the Académie.^[2]
• 1823 – Au complet, in Las Cases.^[2]
• 1874 – Un complet, a man's suit.^[3][5]
• 1895 – A woman's outfit.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Complete, lacking none of its parts: œuvres complètes, une liste complète.^[9][10]
2. Containing all the necessary elements: aliment complet, pain complet, wholemeal bread, café complet, coffee with bread, butter and jam.^[9][1]
3. Having all the qualities of its kind; all-round: un athlète complet.^[9]
4. (before the noun) Total, utter: fou complet.^[2][9]
5. Full, with no room left.^[1][10]

Noun

1. Au complet, au grand complet: with nothing and no one missing.^[11][3]
2. (dated) A man's suit: jacket, trousers and sometimes waistcoat of the same cloth.^[11][9]

Word family

• complètement
• compléter
• incomplet

Related words

• complément
• plein
• Latin complētus
• English complete

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)