Etymologically
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complet

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 15:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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)