English
complement
Complement comes from Latin complēmentum ‘that which fills up or completes’, from compleō ‘to fill up’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-‘to fill’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēō‘to fill’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpleō‘Combining form used to form prefixed verbs with the approximate meaning "to fill"’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompleō‘to fill up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplēmentum‘that which fills up or completes’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complement
- Englishearliest quotation 1590complement
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-‘to fill’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēō‘to fill’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpleō‘Combining form used to form prefixed verbs with the approximate meaning "to fill"’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompleō‘to fill up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplēmentum‘that which fills up or completes’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complement
- Englishearliest quotation 1590complement
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto V: “And both encreast the prayse of woman kynde, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’
public, full, plus, fill, poll, plain, popularity, folk, plenty, plural, ample, amplitude, plethora, amplify, puri, plenary, replenish, volk, plenum, plebs, plebeian, fulsome, 74 more
through Proto-Italic *plēō ‘to fill’
people, popular, publication, publican, 14 more
through Latin pleō ‘Combining form used to form prefixed verbs…’
supply, manipulation, supplement, implement, depletion, replete, deplete, 10 more
through Latin compleō ‘to fill up’
Today it means
noun The totality, the full amount or number which completes something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- / complement