i' 
complaining 
RcnNoftMwiafei'n./caim'Iswrri' kneeling. close at hand, 
a raravan I'I-MUL t he Soiiilan. 
c. n. BttxUard, M^hailah, p. r.)i. 
2. In tlio liabit of making complaint; fretful; 
querulous: as, ;i I'luii/iliiiiiini/ child. 3. Sick; 
ill; poorly: as, hi 1 is <-nii//iliiiiiiiii/, [Colloq.] 
complainingly (kotn-pia' iiing-ii), .'.. !< i 
complaining manner; with expression of dis- 
satisfaction. lli/i'iiii. 
complaint (kgm-plaut'), H. [< ME. complayntf, 
coiiiplfi/nlf. fiim/ili iiilt; < OF. complaint, rinii- 
/i/iint, m., also i'niii/>liiiti: i-nm/ili uti , roniplnnti . 
F. eoiiii>l<iiiil<-, f. (= It. I'niHiiiiiiiltt), < complaint. 
. of eompl/iiinln-, complain: sec complain, c. J 
. An expression of grief, regret, pain, ecu 
sure, resentment, or discontent ; lamentation ; 
faultfinding; murmuring. 
Even to-day ia my IM.II/I/.I/H/ bitter. Job xxlii. !. 
The ciiiinilninti I hear "f thec are grievous. 
.v7.ii*., 1 Hen. IV., II. 4. 
I llo Hot bivatllr, 
Not whisper any iniinniH- nl' rm.i/</'./..l. 
T: HtiiiMin, St. Siini-iiii Stylilr-. 
2. That which is complained of; a cause of 
grief, discontent, lamentation, etc. 
What r,.,, ./''"'"' h'lih been more frequent among men 
almost in all Age*, limn that peace ami prosperity hath 
iH'en the portion of the wicked? 
Si i II i Hi/fleet, Sermons, I. x. 
The poverty of the clergy hath been the complaint of all 
who wish well to tin- I'limeli. ' 
1 147 
IJ.. pin/inn. make plane or plain: sec plain I, 
/ill/in 1 . ] To make level ; reilucc to :m e\cn >nr 
face, lii i-li, i in, | K'arc.] 
complanate (kom'pla-nat), it. ['< I.. rouiplii- 
iiutiix, pp. : see the verb. J 1 . Flattened ; made 
level, or with a smootli surface. [Kare.] 2. 
In hot., lyine in ono plane: applied to leas. -s. 
especially of mosses. 3. In enloui.. appearing 
as if tlattened by pressure: applied to plane 
surface- o.iiitinuous with hi^lier and convex or 
irregular parts: as. a i-mif/i/iimi/i margin or disk 
in a convex pninotiiin. 
complanation (kom-pla-na'shon), H. [As com- 
/iliiiinti * ""'.J In moth., the process of find- 
ing a plane area equal to a given portion of a 
curved surface. 
compleaset (kom-pUiz' ), r. t. [< com- + please, 
after OF. V.compltiire, etc., < L. complaeere : see 
iniiiplaceut.] To assent to; acquiesce in. .\i//- 
iv.v/i r. tr. of Du Burton. 
compleatt, a. and v. An obsolete spelling of 
3. A cause of bodily pain or uneasiness; a mal- 
ady j a disease ; an ailment : usually applied 
to disorders not violent. 
His <M,<i/./.i/i.r< . . . had been aggravated by a severe 
attack of small pox. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. 
4. A formal accusation ; a charge that an of- 
fense has been committed ; especially, such a 
charge presented to an officer or a court for the 
purpose of instituting prosecution. 
The Jews . . . laid ninny and grievous complaint* 
against Paul, which they could not prove. Acts xxv. 7. 
5. In many of the United States, the pleading 
in which the plaintiff in a civil action formally 
sets forth the facts of his case, with his claim 
for relief thereon : corresponding to the declara- 
tion at common law, the bill in equity, and the 
libel in admiralty. 6t. A poem bewailing ill 
fortune in matters of love ; a plaint. 
of such matiere made he many layes, 
Soiigea, comiileyntef, roundelets, virelayes. 
Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 220. 
= 8yn. 1. Lament. 3. Ailment, disorder, distemper, Ill- 
ness. 
complaintful (kom-plaut'ful), a. [< complaint 
+ -ful, 1.] Full of complaint; complaining. 
Huloet. LKare.] 
complaisance (kom'pla-zans), n. [< F. complai- 
sance, < complaisant, p'pr. : see complainant and 
complacence.] Civility and graciousness ; that 
manner of address and behavior in social inter- 
course which gives pleasure ; affability; cour- 
tesy ; desire to please ; acquiescence (in ano- 
ther's wishes) or conformity (to another's de- 
sires or comfort) for courtesy's sake. 
Complaiitance renders a superior amiable, an equal 
agreeable, and an inferior acceptable. Addigon. 
I am afraid you mistake Mr. Ro]ir's complaisance for 
approbation. Gray, Letters, I. 330. 
= 8yn. Complacency, Cmnplaiiance (see complacence), ur- 
banity. suavity, deference, good breeding, politeness. 
complaisant (kom'pla-zant), a. [< F. complai- 
nant, pleasing, obliging, courteous, ppr. ofcom- 
plaire, please, = Sp. complacer = Pg. eomprazer 
= It. compiacerc, (. L. complaeere, please: see 
complacent, which is a doublet of complaisant.'] 
Disposed to please ; pleasing in manners; com- 
pliantly disposed ; exhibiting complaisance; af- 
fable ; gracious ; obliging. 
As for our Saviour, he was, . . . If I durst use the word, 
. . . the most complaisant person that ever perhaps ap- 
peared in the world. Abp. Sharp, Works, V. viii. 
The Prince, who was excessively complaisant, told her 
the whole story three times over. 
Goldtmith, Citizen of the World, xlix. 
He was a man of extremely complaisant presence, and 
suffered no lady to go by without a compliment. 
Hoirclls, Venetian Life, xx. 
= Syn. ('(.tirfootur, Urbane, etc. See polite. 
complaisantly (kom'pla-zant-li), adv. In a 
complaisant manner; with civility; with an 
obliging, affable address or deportment. 
complaisantness (kom'pla-zant-nes), n. Com- 
plaisance; civility. [Rare.J' 
complanate (kom'pla-nat), r. t. ; pret. and pp. 
ciiiiipliniiitiil. i>pr. complanating. [< L. compla- 
int tii.i. pp. dl' fi>ini>lnare (>OF. eomplaner), make 
plane or phiin, < com-, together, + plainim, lev- 
el ground, orig. neut. of plaints, level, plane, > 
complectt, r. t. f< L. cumpli <-ti, coiipiccti, act. 
dimple dirt; entwine around : see complex.'] To 
embrace. 
Then, tender armes, complect the neck; do dry thy father's 
tears, 
You nimble hands. 
Appitaand Viryinia (Hazlltt's Dodsley, IV. H.'O. 
complected 1 (kom-plek'ted), a. [< complect 
+ -fil-.] Woven together ; interwoven. 
Infinitely complected tissues. 
Carlylf, Sartor Resartus, t 8. 
complected 2 (kom-plek'ted), a. [Irreg. < com- 
plexion (complect-ion) + -ed%.~] Of a certain 
complexion; complexioned : usually in compo- 
sition : as, light-romptecterf. [Colloq., western 
and southern U. 8.] 
You remember a man sat right before you at church' 
dark-comjrfecfed, straight as a ramrod, tall, long black 
hair, plain clothes? f. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 99. 
complectiont, An obsolete spelling of com- 
plexion. 
complement (kom'ple-ment), n. [= D. Dan. 
Sw. komplement = Or. complement = OF. eom- 
jilif infill, cinniiliment, later complement, F. com- 
pliment = Pr. coin/ill mi at = Sp. Pg. It. comple- 
ments, complement, < L. comptementum, that 
which fills up or completes, < complere, conplere, 
fill up, complete: see complete, a. and t'. Cf. 
compliment.'] 1. Full quantity or number; full 
amount ; complete allowance : as, the company 
had its complemen t of men ; the ship had its com- 
plement of stores. 
Where the soul hath the full measure and comjiltmcnt 
of happiness ... is truly Heaven. 
Sir T. Browne, Kellgio Mediel, i. 49. 
2. Perfect state ; fullness ; completeness, spe- 
cifically, In her, , the condition of being full : used of the 
moon. The full moon, represented with human features 
in the disk and with surrounding rays, is blazoned as the 
moon in her complfiitent. 
3. What is needed to complete or fill up some 
quantity or thing; that which anything lacks 
of completeness or fullness : as, the complement 
of an angle (which see, below). 
Our custom Is both to place it [the Lord's Prayer l in the 
front of our prayers as a guide, and to add it in the end 
of some principal limbs or parts, as a complement which 
fully perfecteth whatsoever may be defective in the rest. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. i So. 
The power of a surface to reflect heat is the complement 
of its power to radiate or absorb it. 
W. L. Carpenter, Energy in Nature, p. 43. 
4. In music, the interval formed by the higher 
note and the note an octave above the lower 
note of a given simple interval. Thus, the comple- 
ment of a third Is a sixth, formed by the higher note of the 
third and the note an octave at>ove the lower mite of the 
third. The complement of a fifth is a fourth, of a fourth 
a fifth, etc. The complements of major and augmented 
Intervals are respectively minor and diminished Intervals, 
and conversely. The complement of an Interval is also 
called its intention (which see). 
5. That which is added, not as necessary, but 
as ornamental ; an accessory- ; an appendage. 
Garnish 'd and deck'd in modest complement. 
Skat., Hen. V., II. 2. 
Art must be a complement to nature, strictly subsidiary. 
Kmeriton, Art. 
6t. Compliment : a word of the same ultimate 
origin and formerly of the same spelling. See 
coiiii>Ument, 
Which figure Iwyng, as his very orlginall name [the Gor- 
gious ruiiiplfiMi'iit] pnrporteth, the most bewtlfull and 
gorgious of all others, It asketh In reason to be reserued 
for a last ci. ./'/.-.. -nt, and desciphred by the arte of a 
Ladies penne. Putttnham, Arte of Eng. Poesle, p. 207. 
7t. An accomplishment. 
What ornaments doe best adorn her : vhnlcomplements 
doe Itest accomplish her. 
R. Brathieaite, Eng. Ontlewoman. 
complete 
Arithmetical complement, see ariihiariical. Com- 
plement of an arc or angle, i" .;">/ . tin M-maimi, i 
afler Hiibtni' ' am a ipiadiant i: l, or a 
! olll 1 . : I .r,- ' I Illln, 
iii tli.' Itgiire, tin 
complement of the acute angli I;' \ 
and al "I-.- iniKle in I. . 
Mimllar!) , tL .'pie 
':,. .,!. - I: \ an.! I. H I: 
Complement of a 
parallelogram. If. 
tin .i;i. h a point in (lie 
drawn parallel to Uk -"! - the hole par- 
allelogram i- divided Into two pantile),, 
grama win. h an ;>i < l< .1 I.) tin iliagonn). 
an-l tuo whii ti onl> T jonal Hi 
I In latter pair . 
i.. the former; tlin-. \ K I II ami 
_ C O I F are the complement* of the paral- 
lelogram A I: c n Complement of a 
Btar, ia nttron.. the angular iti-i m lh.- 
/.enlih. Complement of the curtain, \njnrt., that |rt 
III the interior side \>llirll Iliak. 
complement (kom'plf-ment), r. (. [<<../;.///.- 
//.. ../, ... J To add a complement to ; complete 
or fill up. 
This very 
> some old carve 
This very unique example ot MM i.nuiMi workmanship 
Is cm/./ . some old carved doors of an earlier 
itate. hut of an equally rare quality. 
Beck'* Jour. Dec. Art, II. 341. 
complemental (kom-ple-men'tal), n. [< roin- 
plement + -<il. Cf. complimentaL] 1. Forming 
a complement ; supplying a deficiency ; com- 
pleting. 
In a word, then, the great and oft-dlspnted religion* 
differences Iwtween Germany and this country (the Unit- 
ed States) seem to us complemmtal of each other's merit" 
and defects, O. 3. Hall, German Culture, p. Slfi. 
2. Iii zodl., forming a complement to the female 
or to a hermaphrodite; complementary: ap- 
plied to minute or rudimentary males of some 
animals, as cirripeds. In some of the clrriueds the 
males are mere spermatic parasites of the female, carried 
about on or in her body. 
The masculine jwwer of certain hermaphriMlite species 
of llila and Scalpellum Is rendered more efficient by cer- 
tain parasitic males, which, from their not pairing, as in 
all hitherto known cases, with females, but with hermaph- 
rodites, I have designated Complemental Males. 
Dancin, Cirripedla, p. 5fi. 
3f. Additional and ornamental ; supplemental. 
It Is an error worse than heresy, to adore these complf. 
mental and circumstantial pieces of felicity. 
.sir T. Browne, Kellgio Medici, L 18. 
4f. Complimentary. 
Many other discourses they had (yet both content to 
glue each other content 111 complementall Courtesies). 
ijuolcd in i 'iif>. John. SmM'i True Travels, I 195. 
Complfiaental flattery with silver tongue. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, viii. Id2. 
5f. Accomplished. 
Would I express a fompleinental youth, 
That thinks himself a spruce and expert courtier, 
Bending his supple hammes, kissing his hands. 
Randolph, Muses Looking-gla&se. 
complementary (kom -pie-men 'ta-ri), a. [< 
complement + -ary 1 .] 1 . Completing ; supply- 
ing a deficiency ; complemental. 
Two ranges of existence and operative force ; nature 
and the supernatural ; l>oth complementary to each other 
liuthnell, Nature and the Supernal., p. 141. 
2. In liiiiic and math., together making up a 
fixed whole: as, complementary angles (that is, 
angles whose algebraic sum is 90). See com- 
plement of an angle, under complement. 3t. 
Same as complimentary Complementary colors. 
See color, 1. Complementary division. See rficunVwi. 
Complementary function, in math., an expression 
containing an arbitrary constant and lieing the solution of 
one differential equation, and which, on Wing added to 
any particular integral of another such equation, gives a 
general solution of the latter. Complementary opera- 
tions, two operations such that If either, operating upon 
any figure, A, gives another figure, B, then the other op- 
erating upon B gives A. 
complete (kom-plet')> a- (< ME. compket = D. 
kompleet = G. complet = Dan. komplet = Sw. 
complett, < OF. complet, F. complet = Sp. Pg. 
It. completo, full, complete, < L. completun, pp. 
of complere, conplere (> It. compire, complete, 
fill, complirt, suit, compliment (see compliment), 
= Sp. cnmplir= Pg. cnmprir = OF. complir, con- 
plir, fulfil), fill up, fill full, fulfil, complete, < 
com- (intensive) + plere, fill, akin toE./wH: see 
full 1 and plenty, and cf. deplete, replete. Cf. also 
complement, compliment."] 1. Having no defi- 
ciency ; wanting no part or element ; perfect ; 
whole ; entire ; full : as, in complete armor. 
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all 
principality and power. Col. II. 10. 
A thousand complete courses of the sun. 
Shalt.. T. and C., Ir. 1. 
Now the end proposed by Ood, In causing the Scripture 
to be written. Is to afford us a complete rule and measure 
of whatever is to be believed or done by as. 
Bp. Atterbury, Hermans, II. ix. 
2. Thorough; consummate; perfect in kind or 
quality. 
