composite

Forms

compositē (comparative compositius)^[1] It is also spelled conpositē.^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin compositus (“well arranged, composed”) + -ē,^[1] the participle of compōnō (“to put together, arrange”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,^[2] whose De oratore considers the view that the orator's only task is to speak in an orderly, ornate and copious way (compositē, ōrnātē, cōpiōsē loquī).^[1][4]

Semantic evolution

Sallust writes that Gaius Caesar spoke well and in good order on life and death,^[1][5] and Gellius uses it of writing that was not orderly enough and of a man dressed with care.^[1][4] Columella uses it of oxen trained to walk calmly and without fear,^[1] Seneca of sitting composedly,^[1][5] and Tacitus, in the comparative, of legions told to do everything with deliberation rather than haste.^[1][4]

Medieval British writers used it for doing things in due order and, in John of Salisbury, for “in combination”.^[6]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of orderly speech.^[1][2]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of a well-ordered speech.^[1][2]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of sitting composedly.^[1][2]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses the comparative of acting with deliberation.^[1][2]
• c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of style and of dress.^[1][2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In an orderly, well-arranged way (of style, dress).^[1][4][5]
2. Composedly, calmly, deliberately.^[1][4][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) In combination.^[6]

Related words

• compositus
• compōnō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press