complexité

Forms

complexité f (plural complexités)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French complexe + -ité.^[2][1][3] The adjective was borrowed as a term of logic in 1667 from Latin complexus, the past participle of complector (“to embrace, contain”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1755 in Morelly's Code de la nature, which speaks of the “embarrassing complexity” of the ideas of moral philosophy.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It came late, as the noun of state answering to complexe.^[5] It has kept that meaning, the character of what is made of many interwoven parts, said of people, minds and feelings as well as of things, and it also names the difficulty that comes from such a mass of elements.^[2][4][6]

Timeline

• 1755 – First record of complexité, in Morelly.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. complexity: the state or character of what is complex.^[6][7][8]
2. A difficulty arising from many elements and their relations; the opposite of simplicité.^[6][4]

Related words

• complexe
• complexifier
• Latin complexus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)