compliance English · revision 7192

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1630}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəmˈplaɪ.əns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[comply]] and [[-ance]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Civility, complaisance: 1641 in the OED, the 1640s in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) MWU dates it to about 1630.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 17th century it meant agreement or concord (1647) and agreement in nature (1649), senses now obsolete.^(OED 1989) Deferential or servile agreement with a person is from 1648.^(OED 1989) Acting in accordance with a request, condition or rule is from 1647,^(OED 1989) the main modern sense,^(AHD) and in a bad sense, unworthy submission, from 1665.^(OED 1989) In physics, the ability of a material to bend under force, the opposite of stiffness, is a later technical sense.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1630 – first use (MWU).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1641 – civility (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1647 – acting in accordance with a rule.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1648 – deferential agreement.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of obeying a rule, request or order.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Conformity with legal and regulatory requirements: ''compliance with safety standards''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Willingness to yield to others; [[submission]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[overcompliance]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[compliant]]

+ * [[comply]]

+ * [[complaisance]]

+ * [[non-compliance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}