complement English · revision 39713

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1398, J. Trevisa, translation of De Proprietatibus Rerum|origins=la pleō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈkɒmpləmənt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈkɑmpləmənt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|complēmentum|t=that which fills up or completes]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(Skeat 1911) formed on [[m|la|compleō|t=to fill up, complete]] with the suffix [[m|la|-mentum]] ([[-ment]]).^(OED 2026)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(MWU 2024) The American Heritage Dictionary, Barnhart and Etymonline take it through [[m|fro|compliement|t=accomplishment, fulfilment]],^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) while the OED derives it without a French step and notes only a single 14th-century instance of the French [[m|fr|complément]].^(OED 2026) The Latin verb is formed with [[m|la|com-]], here probably intensive, on [[m|la|pleō|t=to fill]],^(Etymonline)^(Skeat 1911) which Etymonline traces to [[ine-pro|*pelh₁-|t=to fill]].^(Etymonline) It is the same Latin word as [[compliment]], which came later through French and Italian; the two are doublets.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Skeat 1911)^(Klein 1966)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ That which completes or makes perfect; the completion or consummation of something: 1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew's ''De Proprietatibus Rerum''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) The action of fulfilling or completing is recorded from 1419, a sense now obsolete.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century the word took on courtly senses: something added as an ornament rather than out of need, a personal accomplishment, and the observance of ceremony or a tribute of courtesy.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Between about 1655 and 1725 these senses passed to the parallel French word ''compliment'', and the two spellings were then kept apart.^(OED 2026) The verb shows the same split: it meant to exchange formal courtesies from a1625 (1612 in Barnhart) and to flatter from 1649, senses now expressed by ''compliment'',^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) while the sense that survives, to make complete or to form the complement to something, is recorded from 1643.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster dates the transitive verb to 1602.^(MWU 2024) The idea of a full quantity gave the senses "complete set or allowance" (1589) and the full number needed to man a ship (1600).^(OED 2026) Technical uses followed in mathematics (1570), astronomy (1703) and grammar (1874).^(OED 2026) In Cornwall and Leicestershire dialect ''complement'' meant the usual quantity, the right amount.^(Wright 1898) Johnson (1755) defined it as perfection, fullness or completion, and the full quantity.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1398 – that which completes or makes perfect.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1419 – completion, fulfilment (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1570 – in mathematics.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1589 – the full quantity or set.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1600 – the full number needed to man a ship.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1625 – verb, to exchange formal courtesies (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1643 – verb, to complete or form the complement to.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1703 – in astronomy, the difference between an angle and 90 degrees.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1827 – each of two parts that complete each other.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1874 – in grammar, words that complete the sense.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thing that completes something or makes it perfect; one of two parts that together form a whole or make up for each other's lacks: ''The sharp cheese is a fine complement to the sweet wine.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # The full number or quantity needed, especially the officers and crew of a [[ship]]: ''The ship sailed with its full complement of crew.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (grammar) A word or phrase that completes a [[predicate]], such as a noun or adjective after a [[copula]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (mathematics) The amount by which an [[angle]] falls short of 90 degrees; the angle that must be added to it to make a right angle.^(Chambers 2008)^(OED 2026)

+ # (immunology) A group of proteins in blood [[serum]] that help [[antibody|alt=antibodies]] destroy bacteria and other cells.^(Stedman's)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To complete something or make it better by adding what it lacks; to go well with: ''The new curtains complement the colour of the walls.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[complementer]]

+ * [[complemental]]

+ * [[object complement]]

+ * [[subject complement]]

+ * [[two's complement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[complementary]]

+ * [[complete]]

+ * [[compliment]]

+ * [[counterpart]]

+ * [[supplement]]

+ * [[plenty]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dictionary.com has a usage note on ''complement'' and ''compliment'', which are often confused.^(Dictionary.com 2016) It also contrasts ''complement'' with ''supplement'': to complement is to supply something felt to be lacking, to supplement is to add to something already complete.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}