compliment 
complete, comply, complement.'] 1. A formal act 
or expression of civility, respect, or regard : as, 
the compliments of the season ; to present one's 
comvliments. 
All his other friends were very officious likewise In mak- 
ing their compliments of condolence, and administering 
arguments of comfort to him. C. Midtlleton, Cicero, ii. 3t>9. 
Compliments of congratulation aiv always kindly taken, 
and cost one nothing but pen, ink, and paper. Cheitterjield. 
2. An expression of praise, commendation, or 
admiration: as, he paid you a high compliment 
within my hearing. 3. Flattery; polite, espe- 
cially insincere, praise or commendation. 
'Twas never merry world, 
Since lowly feigning was called compliment. 
Shak., T. N., iii. 1. 
True friendship loathes such oily compliment. 
B. Jonson, Case is Altered, i. 2. 
Hollow compliments and lies. Milton, P. R., iv. 124. 
4. A present or favor bestowed ; a gift. [Now 
only Scotch.] 
I will share, sir, 
In your sports only, nothing in your purchase. 
But you must furnish me with compliments, 
To the manner of Spain ; my coach, my guardaduennas. 
B. Jonson, The Devil is an Ass, iii. 1. 
Left-handed compliment, an uncomplimentary expres- 
sion ; also, words intended to be or to seem complimen- 
tary, but really the opposite ; an awkward compliment. 
Nor did he omit to bestow some left-handed coiitjilimentt 
upon the sovereign people, as a herd of poltroons, who had 
no relish for the glorious hardships nnd misadventures of 
battle. Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 446. 
To Stand on compliment, to behave with ceremony ; be 
ceremonious. = Syn. Flattery, etc. (see adulation), lauda- 
tion, encomium, tribute ; (for plural) respects, regards, 
salutation, greeting. 
compliment (kom'pli-ment), v. [< compliment, 
n.;=F. complimenter, etc.] I. trans. 1. To 
pay a compliment to ; natter or gratify by ex- 
pressions of approbation, admiration, esteem, 
or respect, or by acts implying these feelings : 
as, to compliment a man on his personal appear- 
ance. 
I awaked, and heard myself complimented with the usual 
salutation. Taller, No. 111. 
Monarchs . . . 
Should compliment their foes and shun their friends. 
Prior. 
2. To give complimentary congratulations to; 
felicitate : as, to compliment a prince on the 
birth of a son. 3. To manifest kindness or re- 
gard for by a gift or other favor: as, he com- 
plimented us with tickets for the exhibition. 
= Syn. 1. To praise, commend. 2. To felicitate. 
II. intrans. To pass compliments ; use cere- 
mony or ceremonious language. [Rare.] 
First Serv. Mistress, there are two gentlemen - 
Maria. Where? 
First Serv. Complimenting who should first enter. 
Beau, and Fl., Coxcomb, i. 2. 
When we had given over looking, I complemented with 
her, and told her that I did not grieve so much for the 
worth of the thing it selfe, as for her sake whose it was. 
Mabbe, The Rogue, I. 163. 
1150 
Il.t n.; \i\,complimciitarics(-\-\?.). 1. A com- 
pliment. 2. A master of defense who wrote 
upon the compliments and ceremonies of duel- 
ing. 
COmplimentalt (kom-pli-men'tal), a. [Fon 
ly also co mple mental (see compfemental) ; < i 
Former- 
! com- 
pliment + -al.~\ Complimentary ; expressive of 
or implying compliments. 
Compliimntal lies. Raleigh, Hist. World, v. 3. 
Ridiculous folly 
To waste the time, that might be better spent, 
In complimental wishes. Massinger, Renegado, iii. 1. 
complimentallyt (kom-pli-men'tal-i), adv. In 
a complimentary manner ; by way of compli- 
ment. 
He is laugh'd at 
Most coinpli mentally. 
Ford, Lover's Melancholy, i. 2. 
He has had the good fortune to make some discoveries, 
and the honour to have them publickly, and but too com- 
plimentally, taken notice of by the virtuosi. 
Boyle, Works, IV. 3. 
cpmplimentalnesst (kom-pli-men'tal-nes), n. 
The quality of being complimentary! 
Complimentalness as opposed to plainness [of speech). 
Hammond, Works, II. 292. 
complimentarily (kom-pli-men'ta-ri-li), adv. 
In a complimentary manner. 
complimentary (kom-pli-men'ta-ri), a. and . 
[Formerly also complementary (see complemen- 
tary); < compliment + -ary 1 .'] I. a. Intended 
to express or convey a compliment or compli- 
ments; expressive of civility, regard, or pref- 
erence; using or accustomed to use compli- 
ments: as, complimentary language ; complimen- 
tary tickets ; you are very complimentary. 
I made complimentary verses on the great lords and la- 
dies of the court. 
Bp. Hurd, Dialogues, Dr. H. More and Waller. 
" Child of the Sun " was a complimentary name given to 
any one particularly clever in Peru. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 401. 
= Syn. Commendatory, laudatory, flattering. 
The most skilful and cunning complimentaries alive. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 2. 
complimentativet (kom-pli-men'ta-tiv), . [< 
compliment + -a tire.'] Complimentary. Boswell. 
complimenter (kom'pli-men-ter), n. One who 
compliments; one given to compliments; a 
flatterer. 
complin, compline (kom'plin), . [Sc. also 
complen, complene; < ME. complyn, cumplyne, a 
var. (prob. taken as a collective plur. in -en, -n) 
of complic, cumplie, < OF. compile, F. compile = 
Pr. Sp. Pg. completa = It. compieta (= MLG. 
Complete = Gr. komplete = E. obs. complete, n., q. 
v.),< ML. completa (usually in pi., ML. completes, 
F. complies, etc.), complin (so called because 
this service completes the religious exercises of 
the day), prop. fern, of L. completus, finished, 
complete : see complete, a., and cf . completory.~\ 
The last of the seven canonical hours, originally 
said after the evening meal and before retiring 
to sleep, but in later medieval and modern 
usage following immediately upon vespers. In 
the Roman arrangement complin begins with the benedic- 
tion of the reader and 1 Pet. v. 8 as lesson, followed by 
the Lord's Prayer, Conflteor, etc. The psalms are the 4th, 
,'ilst (verses 1 - 6), 91st, and 134th, with an invariable anthem 
(but Halleluiah at Eastertide) and invariable hymn (Te 
lucii ante termiuum). The chapter is Jer. xiv. 9. The 
Nunc dimittis succeeds with its antiphon, the Kyrie, Lord's 
Prayer, and Creed, and the service concludes with the 
preces, collect ( Visita, quaxumut), etc., and benediction. 
In the Greek Church the office corresponding to complin 
is called apodeipnon, and is said in two forms, great and 
little apodeipnon, the former in Lent, the latter at other 
times. Alsocalled completorium or completory. 
If a man were but of a day's life, it is well if he lasts till 
evensong, and then says his compline an hour before the 
time. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 449. 
compliant (kom'plish), v. t. [< ME. complissen, 
short for acomplissen, accomplish: see accom- 
plish.] To accomplish ; fulfil. 
For ye into like thraldome me did throw, 
And kept from comptighing the faith which I did owe. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. xi. 41. 
comploret (kom-plor'), v. [< L- complorare, 
< com-, together, + plorare, lament. Cf. de- 
plore, implore.] To lament or deplore together. 
Coekeram. 
complot (kom'plot), . [= D. Dan. komplot = 
Gr. complot = Sw. komplott, < F. complot, a con- 
spiracy, plot, OF. a crowd, a battle, a plot, 
prob. for *comploit, < L. complicitum, later form 
of complicatum, neut. of complicates, pp. of com- 
plicare, involve, complicate : see complicate, v., 
and. complice. See plot 2 .'] A plotting together ; 
a joint plot ; a confederacy in some design ; a 
conspiracy. 
I'll disclose 
The complot to your father. 
Chapman, Gentleman Usher, iv. 1. 
I know their complot is to have my life. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., ill. 1. 
complot (kom-plof), v. ; pret. and pp. complot- 
ted, ppr. complotting. [< F. comploter, < com- 
plot: see complot, .] I. trans. To plan toge- 
ther; contrive; plot. 
Thus liuing in this sluuish life as is aforesaid, diners of 
vs complotted and hammered into our heads how we might 
procure our releasement. 
Webbe, Travels (ed. Arber), p. 28. 
Nobles complotting nobles' speedy fall. 
Ford, Fame's Memorial. 
Craft, greed and violence complot revenge. 
Browning, Ring and Book, II. 190. 
II. in traits. To plot together; conspire; form 
a plot ; join in a secret design, generally crimi- 
nal. 
The other 3, complotting with him, ran away from their 
maisters in the night. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 363. 
complotment (kom-plot'ment), n. [< complot + 
-merit."] A plotting together ; conspiracy. 
What was the cause of their multiplied, variated com- 
plotments against her? Bp. King, Sermon, Nov. 5, 1608. 
complotter (kom-plot'er), n. One joined in a 
plot ; a conspirator. 
The complotter and executioner of that inhuman action. 
Dryden, Vind. of Duke of Guiae. 
COmplottingly (kom-plot'ing-li), adv. By com- 
plotting; by_ conspiracy or plot. 
Coraplutensian (kom-plo-ten'si-an), a. [< L. 
Camplutensis, pertaining to Complutvm.'] Per- 
taining to Complutum, the Roman name of Al- 
cala de Henares in Spain Complutenslan poly- 
glot, the earliest complete polyglot edition of the Bible, 
compiled and printed at Alcala under the direction ana 
at the expense of Cardinal Ximenes, and finished in 1517, 
componency 
in 6 volumes folio, but not published till 1522. Its con- 
tents consist of the Hebrew, Latin Vulgate, and Septuagint 
Crock texts of the Old Testament, and the Greek and 
Latin Vulgate texts of the >'ew Testament, with other 
versions of some parts, and with a Hebrew lexicon and 
grammar, etc. 
COmpluvium (kom-plo' vi-um), n. ; pi. complnvia 
(-a). [L., < compluere, flow together in rain- 
ing, < com-, together, + pluere, rain : see /iln- 
vial.] A quadrangular opening in the roof over 
the atrium or court of ancient Roman houses. 
The roof was made to slope toward the conipluvium, so 
as to collect the rain-water in a basin or tank in the mid- 
dle of the atrium. See atriutn ami iiuj>lin-iuni. 
comply (kom-pli'), v. ; pret. and pp. complied, 
ppr. complying. [Immediate origin not certain, 
but prob. It., namely < It. complire, fill up, ful- 
fil, suit, use compliments, compiere, compire, 
finish, = OF. complir = Sp. complir = Pg. cum- 
prir, fulfil, execute, < L. compiere, fill up, sup- 
ply, sate (with food or drink), finish, complete : 
see complete, and cf. compliment. The mean- 
ing seems to have been affected by ply, pi i nut, 
iiliaMe, etc., which are not related to comply.] 
I.t trans. 1 . To fulfil ; perform or execute. 
My power cannot comply my promise; 
My father's so averse from granting my 
Request concerning thee. 
Chapman, Revenge for Honour. 
2. To caress; embrace; encircle. 
Witty Ovid, by 
Whom fair Coriima sits and doth comply 
With yvorie wrists his laureat head. 
Herrick, Hesperides, p. 221. 
II. intrans. 1. To act in accordance with 
another's will or desire ; yield in agreement or 
compliance : as, to comply with a command or 
request. 
Comply with some humours, bear with others, but serve 
none. Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., i. 23. 
Yet this be sure, in nothing to comply 
Scandalous or forbidden in our law. 
Milton, S. A., 1. 1408. 
He that complies against his will 
Is of his own opinion still. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, III. iii. 547. 
2. To accommodate itself; accord; fit; con- 
form : said of things. [Rare.] 
The truth of things will not comply with our conceit*. 
Tillotgon. 
He made Ins wish with his estate comply. 
Prior. 
The altar was shaped so as to comply with the inscrip- 
tion that surrounded it. Addison. 
3f. To be courteous, complaisant, or concilia- 
tory. 
Your hands. Come : the appurtenance of welcome is 
fashion and ceremony: let me comply with you in this 
garb. Shak., Hamlet, ii. 2. (See also v. 2.) 
Whosoever is Dnke of Savoy had need be cunning, and 
more than any other Prince, in regard that lying between 
two potent Neighbours, the French and the Spaniard, he 
must comply with both. Howell, Letters, I. i. 42. 
compo (kom'po), . [Abbr. of composition or 
of compost: see composition, 5, compost, n., 4.] 
1. Same as compost, 4. 2. Same as compo- 
sition, 5. 3. A mixture of resin, whiting, and 
glue, used for ornaments on walls and cornices 
instead of plaster of Paris : called specifically 
carvers' compo. 4. The sum or dividend paid 
in composition of a bankrupt's debts ; also, the 
portion of the monthly wages paid to a ship's 
company. [Eng.] 
compon, a. Same as compone. 
componderatet (kom-pon'de-rat), i: t. or i. [< 
L. *componderatus, pp. of *componderare, in ppr. 
eomponderan(t-)s, < com-, together, +ponderarc, 
weigh, < pondus (ponder-), weight: see ponder. ] 
To weigh together. Coekeram. 
componet (kom-pon'), v. t. [< L. componere, 
settle: see compose and compound^, .] To ar- 
range; settle. 
A good pretence for componing peace between princes. 
Strype, Records, No. 23. 
compone (kom-po'ne), a. [< F. compone, com- 
posed, irreg. < L. componere, 
place together: see compose, 
compound^, #.] in her., com- 
posed of small squares of two 
tinctures alternately in one 
row: said of a bordure, bend, 
or other ordinary. Also com- 
pon, componed, company, and 
gobonated. See eounter-com- 
pony. 
componed ( kom-pond'), a. Same as compone. 
componency (kom-po'nen-si), H. [< component: 
see -ency.~\ Composition; structure; nature. 
The componency of that lightning which produces such 
an effect [explosion]. 
Wartnrton, Julian's Attempt to Rebuild the Temple, ii. 
Bordure Componi. 
