English
accomplice
Accomplice comes from Old French complice ‘confederate’, from Latin complicō ‘fold together’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō‘fold or lay together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicōas complicāre‘fold together’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400complice‘confederate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complice
- Englishearliest quotation 1591accomplice
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō‘fold or lay together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicōas complicāre‘fold together’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400complice‘confederate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complice
- Englishearliest quotation 1591accomplice
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Succeſſe vnto our valiant Generall, / And happineſſe to…”
first attested First attested in 1550 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1550. The article a became part of the word, through the influence of the word accomplish.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
complex, fiasco, flax, replication, flack, plexus, flagon, 33 more
through Latin plicō ‘fold or lay together’
apply, display, reply, employment, exploitation, exploit, employ, deploy, explicit, imply, replica, ploy, ply, implicit, inexplicable, supple, pliable, implicate, supplication, triplicate, splay, pliant, explication, 21 more
through Latin complicō ‘fold together’
through Old French complice ‘confederate’
Today it means
noun An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / accomplice