completus
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Pronunciation
Forms
complētus (feminine complēta, neuter complētum); first/second-declension adjective[1] Also spelled conplētus, and Gellius has the comparative complētior.[2][3]
Etymology
It is the perfect participle of compleō “to fill up”, from com- and ⟨*pleō⟩ “to fill”, used as an adjective.[2][1][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's earliest source and Gaffiot's citation are from Cicero, of a rounded-off, complete sentence.[5][3] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]
Semantic evolution
As an adjective it meant rounded off, finished, complete, as in Cicero, and Gellius has a comparative.[2][3] Köbler records it again in Justinian's Novels, after 534.[5]
English complete (late 14th century, “having no deficiency”) comes from Old French complet or directly from complētus.[4]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[3][5]
- c. 165 AD – Gellius uses the comparative.[3][5]
- late 14th century – English complete is recorded.[4]
Meanings
Adjective
Word family
- complētiō
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de