Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “compose” come from?

Compose comes from Old French composer, formed from the prefix com- and Latin pausare, meaning "to stop" or "to cease," ultimately from Ancient Greek παῦσις meaning "a stopping" or "cessation."

compose (English): To make something by merging parts; To make up...

Definitions

  1. To make something by merging parts; To make up...

Ancestry of “compose”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcomposerto come to an agreement; to compose; to create;...
2Latincompōnere—

Words derived from “compose”

  • composer
  • composure
  • discomposure
  • recompose
  • discompose
  • composable
  • composability
  • discombobulating
  • discombobulation
  • discombobulate
  • composeth
  • recomposer
  • composerly
  • precompose
  • composograph
  • cocomposer
  • uncomposable
  • composest
  • noncomposer
  • photocompose
  • cocompose
  • photocomposer
  • discombobulatingly
  • discombobulator
Every word from Latin compōnere →