英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

complement (v.)[complement 词源字典]: 1610s, "exchange courtesies," from complement (n.). Meaning "make complete" is from 1640s. Related: Complemented; complementing.[complement etymology, complement origin, 英语词源]
complementarity (n.): 1908, a term in physics, from complementary + -ity.
complementary (adj.): 1620s, "ceremonious," from complement + -ary. Sense "forming a complement" attested from 1829, earliest in complementary colors.
complete (adj.): late 14c., from Old French complet "full," or directly from Latin completus, past participle of complere "to fill up, complete the number of (a legion, etc.)," transferred to "to fill, to fulfill, to finish (a task)," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + plere "to fill" (see pleio-).
complete (v.): late 14c.; see complete (adj.). Related: Completed; completing.
completely (adv.): 1520s, from complete (adj.) + -ly (2).
completion (n.): late 14c., from Latin completionem (nominative completio), noun of action from past participle stem of complere "to fill up, complete" (see complete (adj.)).
complex (adj.): 1650s, "composed of parts," from French complexe "complicated, complex, intricate" (17c.), from Latin complexus "surrounding, encompassing," past participle of complecti "to encircle, embrace," in transferred use, "to hold fast, master, comprehend," from com- "with" (see com-) + plectere "to weave, braid, twine, entwine," from PIE *plek-to-, from root *plek- "to plait" (see ply (v.1)). The meaning "not easily analyzed" is first recorded 1715. Complex sentence is attested from 1881.
complex (n.): 1650s, "a whole comprised of parts," from complex (adj.). Psychological sense of "connected group of repressed ideas" was established by C.G. Jung, 1907.
complexion (n.): mid-14c., "bodily constitution," from Old French complexion, complession "combination of humors," hence "temperament, character, make-up," from Latin complexionem (nominative complexio) "combination" (in Late Latin, "physical constitution"), from complexus (see complex (adj.)). Meaning "appearance of the skin of the face" is first recorded mid-15c. In medieval physiology, the color of the face indicated temperament or health.
complexity (n.): 1721, "composite nature," from complex (adj.) + -ity. Meaning "intricacy" is from 1790. Meaning "a complex condition" is from 1794.
compliance (n.): 1640s, from comply + -ance. Related: Compliancy.
compliant (adj.): 1640s, from comply + -ant.
complicate (v.): 1620s, "to intertwine" (as a past participle adjective, early 15c.), from Latin complicatus "folded together; confused, intricate," past participle of complicare (see complication). Meaning "to make more complex" is recorded from 1832, from earlier sense "to combine in a complex way" (17c.). Related: Complicated; complicating.
complicated (adj.): 1640s, "tangled," from past participle adjective from complicate. Figurative meaning "not easy to solve, intricate, confused, difficult to unravel" is from 1650s.
complication (n.): early 15c., from Middle French complication, from Latin complicationem (nominative complicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of complicare "to fold together, fold up, roll up," from com- "together" (see com-) + plicare "to fold, weave" (see ply (v.1)). Meaning "something that complicates" first recorded 1903.
complicity (n.): 1650s, from French complicité, from Old French complice "accomplice, comrade, companion" (14c.), from Late Latin complicem, accusative of complex "partner, confederate," from Latin complicare "to fold together" (see complicate; also compare accomplice).
compliment (n.): "An act, or expression of civility, usually understood to include some hypocrisy, and to mean less than it declares" [Johnson], 1570s, complement, via French compliment (17c.), from Italian complimento "expression of respect and civility," from Vulgar Latin *complire, for Latin complere "to complete" (see complete (adj.)), via notion of "complete the obligations of politeness." Same word as complement but by a different etymological route; differentiated by spelling after 1650.
compliment (v.): 1610s, from French complimenter, from compliment (see compliment (n.)). Related: Complimented; complimenting.
complimentary (adj.): 1620s, "conveying a compliment," from compliment (n.) + -ary. In later use loosely meaning "free of charge."