complex English · revision 2798

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1652|origins=la plectō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: adjective UK /ˈkɒm.pleks/, US /kɑːmˈpleks/; noun UK /ˈkɒm.pleks/, US /ˈkɑːm.pleks/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|complexe|t=complicated, intricate]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) or directly from [[la|complexus|t=surrounding, encompassing]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the past participle of [[m|la|complectī|t=to encircle, embrace; to comprehend]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|com-|t=together]] and [[m|la|plectere|t=to weave, braid, twine]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*plek-|t=to plait]].^(Etymonline) The noun is partly from Latin complexus “a surrounding, embrace”, and partly the adjective used as a noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Made of various connected parts”: before 1652, both as adjective and noun,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the 1650s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to 1645 and the noun to 1643.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “involved, intricate, complicated” is first recorded in 1715.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A ''complex sentence'', with one or more subordinate clauses, is from 1776 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) 1881 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and a ''complex fraction'' from 1827.^(OED 1989) In chemistry, a substance formed by combining simpler ones is from 1895.^(OED 1989) The psychological sense, a group of repressed, emotionally charged ideas, was established by C. G. Jung in 1907,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) which gave the popular sense of an obsession or fixation, as in ''inferiority complex''.^(AHD) A group of buildings with a common purpose, such as a sports complex, is a later use.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) ''Complexity'' is from before 1721.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1652 – made of various parts; a composite whole.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1715 – complicated, intricate.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1776 – ''complex sentence''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1895 – a chemical complex.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1907 – a psychological complex.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made up of many connected parts; [[composite]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Hard to understand or deal with; [[complicated]] or [[intricate]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Of a sentence, having a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' Of a number, having a real and an [[imaginary number|alt=imaginary]] part.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A whole made of connected parts; a group of related buildings: ''a sports complex''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(psychology)'' A group of repressed ideas and feelings that influence behavior.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # An exaggerated fear or [[obsession]]: ''a complex about his height''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[complexly]]

+ * [[complexness]]

+ * [[complexation]]

+ * [[complexify]]

+ * [[complexity]]

+ * [[supercomplex]]

+ * [[multiplex]]

+ * [[overcomplex]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[complexion]]

+ * [[complicated]]

+ * [[perplex]]

+ * [[plexus]]

+ * [[ply]]

+ * [[duplex]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Complex'' suggests many related parts, ''complicated'' parts so many or so related as to be hard to understand, and ''intricate'' a pattern of elaborately intertwined parts;^(AHD) ''knotty'' and ''tangled'' imply difficulty in solving.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}