Where does “compliment” come from?
Compliment comes from French compliment, from Italian complimento, from Spanish cumplimiento, from Latin complementum, a noun formed with the suffix -mentum from complere meaning to complete or fulfill.
compliment (English): An expression of praise, congratulation, or...
Definitions
- An expression of praise, congratulation, or...
Ancestry of “compliment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | compliment | compliment (positive comment) |
| 2 | Italian | complimento | congratulations; compliment; regards |
| 3 | Spanish | cumplimiento | compliance; fulfillment, completion; formality |
| 4 | Spanish | cumplir | to fulfil, to fulfill, to meet; to achieve, to... |
| 5 | Old Spanish | cumplir | — |
| 6 | Latin | complere | present active infinitive of compleō;... |
| 7 | Latin | compleo | I fill up, fill full, fill out; make up,... |
| 8 | Latin | com- | allomorph of con- |
| 9 | Latin | con- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing... |
| 10 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 11 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 17 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 18 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 19 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 21 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |