complete 
A Frenchman told me lately, that was at your Audience, 
that lie never saw so many complete Gentlemen in his Life. 
llowell, Letters, I. vi. 21. 
Transcendent Artist ! How cmnpleat thy Skill ! 
Cougnte, To Sir Godfrey Kneller. 
3. Finished; ended; concluded; completed. 
This course of vanity almost complete, 
Tired in the field of life, I hope retreat. Prior. 
Complete act, branch, cadence. See the nouns. Com- 
plete dyadic, one which cannot be reduced to the snm 
nl k-ss tlian three dyads. Complete flower, ill hot., a 
(lower furnished with all the organs that is, with calyx 
ami corolla, as well as stamens and pistil : distinguished 
from per/ret, which requires only the presence of the 
stamens and pistil. Complete integral, of a partial dif- 
ferential equation, in math. : (a) A solution containing 
the full number of arbitrary constants or functions. (6) 
In the case of a partial differential equation of the first 
oiiler. a solution containing the full number ot arbitrary 
constants, but no arbitrary function. Complete meta- 
morphosis, in fntom., that metamorphosis in which there 
is a well-marked quiescent pupa state between the larval 
form and the imago or perfect insect, as in the Lepidop- 
tera. Some of the older entomologists, following Fabri- 
cius, applied this term to the changes of those insects in 
which the larva is formed like the imago, a condition ob- 
served only in some of the low, wingless forms, as the lice 
and fleas. Complete primitive, the same as the com- 
/,!,/. fn/<-;t,-(tl, except that it is regarded as producing the 
differential equation, not as derived from it. =SyiL 1. 
Whole, Entire, Complete, Total, full, utter, absolute, ple- 
nary, faultless, unbroken. " Nothing is whole that has any- 
thing taken from it ; nothing is entire that is divided ; 
nothing is complete that has not all its parts, and those 
parts fully developed. Complete refers to the perfection 
of parts ; entire, to their unity ; whole, to their junction ; 
total, to their aggregate. A whole orange ; an entire set ; 
a complete facsimile; the total expense." Angus, Hand- 
book of Eng. Tongue, p. 376. 
Wilt thou be lord of the whole world? 
Shak., A. and C. t ii. 7. 
Sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears, 
Divides one thing entire to many objects. 
Shalt., Rich. II., ii. 2. 
There is nothing which could not have been done, at least 
nearly as well, and many things much better, by adhering 
to the complete instead of to the broken arch. 
J. Fergtisson, Hist. Arch., I. 525. 
As the total tonnage [of Venetian merchant vessels] is 
hut 26,000, it may be inferred that they are small craft. 
Howells, Venetian Life, xvi. 
completet (kom-plef ), . [= F. compile = Sp. 
Pg. completa = It. compieta, < ML. completa 
(usually in pi., F. complies, etc., ML. completes), 
sc. L. hora, hour, the last of the canonical 
hours: see complin, the usual E. form.] The 
last of the daily canonical hours in the Roman 
Catholic breviary : same as complin. Hinsheu, 
complete (kom-plet/), v. t. ; pret. and pp. com- 
pleted, ppr. completing. [= F. computer = Sp. 
Pg. completar = D. kompleteren = G. completiren 
= Dan. kompletere = Sw. complettera, < ML. as 
if "completare, freq. of L. complere, pp. com- 
pletus, fill up: see complete, a.] 1. To make 
complete ; bring to a consummation or an end; 
add or supply what is lacking to ; finish ; per- 
fect ; fill tip or out : as, to complete a house or 
a task; to complete an unfinished design; to 
complete another's thought, or the measure of 
one's wrongs. 
The Afghan soon followed to complete the work of dev- 
astation which the Persian had begun. 
Macaulay, Lord Clive. 
2. To fulfil ; accomplish ; realize. 
To town he comes, completes the nation's hope, 
And heads the bold train-bands, and burns a pope. 
Pope, Moral Essays, iii. 213. 
= Syn. To consummate, perform, execute, achieve, realize, 
completedness (kom-ple'ted-nes), n. The state 
of being completed or finished : as, completed- 
ness of action. 
[The Latin word] fuit itself containing the notion of 
completedness as well as of affirmation. 
G. Harrison, Laws of Lat. Gram., p. 171. 
completely (kom-plet'li), adv. In a complete 
manner; fully; perfectly; entirely; wholly; 
totally; utterly; thoroughly; quite: as, to be 
completely mistaken ; ' ' completely witty," Swift. 
Completely shiftless was thy native plight. 
J. Beaitmant, Psyche, xix. 5. 
By successive crosses one species may be made to absorb 
completely another, and so it notoriously is with races. 
Darurin, Var. of Animals and Plants, p. 406. 
completementt (kom-plet 'ment), n. [< com- 
plete + -ment.] Tie act of completing; a fin- 
ishing. Dryden. 
completeness (kom-plet'nes), . The state or 
quality of being complete ; perfectness ; entire- 
ness; thoroughness. 
I cannot allow their wisdom such a completeness and 
inerrability. King Charles. 
The native and masculine type of excellence must find 
a place in every ethical code which aspires to completeness. 
H. JV. Oxenham, Short Studies, p. 35. 
Extensive completeness. See extensive. 
completion (Kom-ple'shon), . [< LL. comple- 
tio(n-), a filling up, < L. complere, fill up : see 
complete, a.] 1. The act of completing, or bring- 
1148 
ing to the desired end ; a carrying or filling out ; 
full performance or achievement ; consumma- 
tion ; conclusion : as, the completion of a build- 
ing ; the completion of one's education, or of an 
enterprise. 
Other larger views than seem necessary to the comple- 
tion of the argument. Bp. llurd, Sermon, Feb. 16, 1781. 
A slow-develop'd strength awaits 
Completion in a painful school. 
Tennyson, Love thou thy Land. 
2. Fulfilment; accomplishment. 
There was a full entire harmony and consent in the di- 
vine predictions, receiving their completion in Christ. 
South. 
The completion of those prophecies. 
Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, II. xi. 
completive (kom-ple'tiv), n. [= F. completif 
= Pr. completiu = Sp. Pg. It. complctivo, < LL. 
completions, serving to fill up, < L. completus, 
pp. of complere, fill up: see complete, a.] Com- 
pleting or tending to complete; making com- 
plete. [Bare.] 
The completive power of the tense. Harris, Hermes, i. 7. 
A comprehensive view of the suffering and joy, the re- 
demptive and the completive work of Messiah, under pro- 
phetic imagery. Schaf, Hist. Christ. C'hurch, I. 83. 
Completive difference, in logic, that difference or differ- 
entiating mark which, added to the genus, completes the 
definition of a species. 
completorium (kom-ple-to'ri-um), n. ; pi. com- 
pletoria (-a). [LL., a service containingprayers 
at the close of the day, < L. complere, pp. com- 
pletes, complete : see complete, a. and .] 1. 
In the Ambrosian rite, a kind of anthem said at 
lauds and vespers, on ordinary days one at 
each service, but on Sundays and festivals two 
or more : apparently named from the fact of 
its serving as an addition or supplement to a 
psallenda or other antiphon. 2. Same as com- 
plin. 
COmpletoryt (kom-ple'to-ri), a. and n. [< LL. 
*completorius, adj. (neut. completorium, n., a 
complin), < L. completor, a finisher, < complere, 
complete, finish : see complete, a., and -ory.~\ I. 
a. Fulfilling; accomplishing. 
His crucifixion, . . . completory of ancient presigniflca- 
tions and predictions. Barrow, Works, II. xxv. 
II. .; pi. completories (-riz). Same as complin. 
complex (kom'pleks), a. [= F. complexe = Sp. 
Pg. complexo, complex, = It. compleaso, fleshy, 
strong, powerful, < L. complexus, pp. of com- 
plecti, conplecti, act. complectere, conplectere, en- 
twine, encircle, compass, infold, < com-, toge- 
ther, -I- plectere, weave, braid : of. LL. complex, 
adj., connected with, confederate (> ult. E. 
complice), < complieare, fold together, < com-, 
together, + plicare, fold, akin to plectere : see 
plaid, complicate, v., and complected^.] 1. Com- 
posed of interconnected parts; formed by a 
combination of simple things or elements ; in- 
cluding two or more connected particulars; 
composite ; not simple : as, a complex being ; 
complex ideas ; a complex term. 
Ideas thus made up [of several simple ones] I call com- 
plex, such as beauty, gratitude, a man, the universe. 
Locke, Human Understanding, ii. 12. 
Incomplex apprehension is of one object, or of several 
without any relation )>eing perceived between them, as of 
'a man,' 'a horse,' 'cards'; complex is of several with 
such a relation, as of 'a man on horseback,' 'a pack of 
cards.' Whately, Logic, II. i. g 1. 
When analysis succeeds in reducing a complex fact to 
its component factors, sensible or extra-sensible, there is 
indeed an enlargement of knowledge. 
. //. Lewes, Probs. of Life and Mind, II. iv. 9. 
2. Involved; intricate ; complicated ; perplex- 
ing. 
Many cases are on record showing how complex and 
unexpected are the checks and relations between organic 
beings. Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 77. 
The universe is a very complex mixture of different sub- 
stances. Mivart, Nature and Thought, p. 200. 
Complex ens, fraction, etc. See the nouns. Complex 
notion or term, in logic, one in which different marks or 
attributes can be distinguished. Complex number, (a) 
An expression of the form x + iy, where i* = 1. (o) In 
the theory of numbers, any expression in the form ai + 
bj +, etc., where a, 6, etc., are integers, and i,j, etc., are 
peculiar units. Complex question, in logic, one which 
asks whether an object possesses a character, and not 
merely whether an object of a simple term exists. Com- 
plex sentence, a sentence which contains one or more 
dependent or subordinate clauses in addition to the prin- 
cipal clause. Complex shear. See shear. Complex 
syllogism. Same as chain-syllogism. Complex truth, 
truth as it exists in the mind, distinguished from trans- 
cendental truth or reality. Complex variable, a varia- 
ble of the form x + iy, where i is a unit such that t* = 1. 
= Syn. Complicated, etc. See intricate. 
complex (kom'pleks), n. [= Sp. Pg. complexo 
= It. complesso, < L. complexes, a surrounding, 
embracing, connection, relation, < complecti, 
conplecti, pp. complexus, conplexus, surround, 
embrace, include: see complex, a. The noun 
complexional 
complex in mod. use depends closely upon the 
adj.] 1. Anything consisting in or formed by 
the union of interconnected parts ; especially, 
an assemblage of particulars related as parts 
of a system. 
This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it 
the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges of the 
gospel. South, Sermons. 
That full complex 
Of never-ending wonders. 
Thomson, Summer, 1. 1785. 
To the mind of a philosopher every fact of colour is a 
complex of visible and invisible facts. 
O. II. Lewex, Probs. of Life and Mind, II. ii. 33. 
Mind is a complex whose nature is beyond the grasp of 
our intelligence. Nineteenth Century, XX. 358. 
In lyric poetry grand complexes are made by the rush 
and the roll of the rhythm. 
Aimer. Jour. Philol., VIII. 337, note. 
2. In geom., a continuous, triply infinite sys- 
tem of infinite straight lines ; the whole of any 
kind of forms in space fulfilling one condition : 
thus, all the lines that cut a given curve in 
space constitute a complex Axis of a complex, 
a right line such that, if the complex be revolved round 
it or moved along it, the complex remains unchanged. 
Class of a complex. See tin**, . Complex of forces. 
the system of all the forces subject to a single geometrical 
condition. Linear complex, a complex of rays so dis- 
tributed through space that through each point there is 
an infinity of rays in one plane, and in each plane an infin- 
ity of rays meeting in one point. Order Of a complex, 
the order of the curve enveloping all the rays of the com- 
plex that lie in an arbitrary plane. 
COmplexed (kom'plekst), a. If. Same as com- 
plex. Sir T. Browne. 2. In her., same as an- 
nodated. 
complexednesst (kom-plek'sed-nes), . The 
state or quality of being complex ; complexity. 
The complexedness of these moral ideas. 
Locke, Human Understanding, iv. S. 
complexion (kom-plek'shon), n. [Formerly 
also complection ; < ME. complexion, complexiomi, 
complection, temperament, < OF. complexion, F. 
complexion = Pr. complexio, complicio = Sp. com- 
plexion = Pg. compleigSo = It. complessione, < L. 
complexio(n-), conplexio(n), a combination, con- 
nection, period, in LL. physical constitution 
or habit, < complecti, pp. complexus, entwine, en- 
compass: see complex, a.] If. Temperament, 
habitude, or natural disposition of the body or 
mind; constitutional condition or tendency; 
character; nature. 
And Shylock, for his own part, knew the bird was 
fledged ; and then it is the complexion of them all to leave 
the dam. Shak., M. of V., iii. 1. 
I am far from concluding all to be impenitent that do 
not actually weep and shed tears ; I know there are con- 
stitutions, complexions, that do not afford them. 
Donne, Sermons, xiii. 
The Italians are for the most part of a speculative com- 
plexion. Howell, Forraine Travell, p. 41. 
Certainly, no other creature, but an atheist by complex- 
ion, could ever take up with such pitiful accounts of 
things. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. iii. 
2. The color or hue of the skin, particularly of 
that of the face. 
M islike me not for my complexion, 
The shadow'd livery of the burnish'd sun, 
To whom I am a neighbour, and near bred. 
Shak., M. of V., 11. 1. 
If I write on a black man, I run over all the eminent 
persons of that complexion. Addition, Spectator. 
3. The general appearance of anything; as- 
pect. 
Men judge by the complexion of the sky 
The state and inclination of the day. 
Shak., Rich. II., iii. 2. 
In the Southern States the tenure of land and the local 
laws, with slavery, give the social system not aldemocratic 
but an aristocratic complexion. Emerson, Misc., p. 302. 
4. The state of being complex ; complexity; in- 
volution ; combination ; also, a complex. [Ob- 
solete or rare.] 
God's mercy goes along in complexion and conjunction 
with his judgments. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 832. 
This is the great and entire complexion of a Christian's 
faith. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 305. 
Though the terms of propositions may be complex, yet, 
where the composition of the . . . argument is . .. plain, 
. . . the complexion does not belong to the syllogistic form 
of it. Watts, Logic, III. ii. 2. 
complexion! (kom-plek'shon), v. t. [< complex- 
ion, .] To characterize by or endow with a 
disposition or temperament. Sir T. Browne. 
complexionablyt (kom-plek'shon-a-bli), adv. 
[< "complenonable (< complexion 4- -dole') + -ty 2 .] 
Same as complcxionaUy. Sir T. Browne. 
complexional (kom-plek'shon-al), a. [< com- 
plexion + -al; = Sp. complexional, etc.] It. 
Pertaining to or depending on the disposition, 
temperament, or nature ; constitutional. 
