compliment en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
- /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ (US)
Etymology
Borrowed from French compliment, itself a borrowing of Italian complimento, which in turn is a borrowing from Spanish cumplimiento, from cumplir (“to comply, complete, do what is proper”) + -miento or Latin complēmentum. Doublet of complement. Displaced Old English ġeswǣsnes.
Meanings
-
An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
[…] I met him With customary compliment; when he, Wafting his eyes to the contrary and falling A lip of much contempt, speeds from me and So leaves me to consider what is breeding That changeth thus his manners.
c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:[...] what honour that, but tedious waste of time, to sit and hear So many hollow compliments and lies, Outlandish flatteries?
1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 65:pay someone a compliment
Virtue indeed meets many a rhiming friend, And many a compliment politely penn’d,
1782, William Cowper, “Table Talk”, in Poems, London: J. Johnson, page 37:
-
(uncountable) Complimentary language; courtesy, flattery.
He told the Captain, He was heartily sorry for his Misfortunes; tho’ in my Opinion that was nothing but a Compliment: For, as I found afterwards, he was more brutish, and dishonest, than most of the other Kings on the Island […]
1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, page 25:This accomplished man condescended to think of a young girl, and take the pains to talk to her, not with absurd compliment, but with an appeal to her understanding, and sometimes with instructive correction.
1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter III, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 48:
-
(alt-of, misspelling) Misspelling of complement.
alt of complement
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| compliments | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
backhanded compliment · complimental · left-handed compliment · accompliment · with compliments · poisonous compliment · complimentary · miscompliment · compliment fishing · pseudo-compliment · complisult · Chinese compliment · backward compliment · poisoned compliment
Descendants
Synonyms
Translations (76)
sv komplimang (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ja お世辞 (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · hy հաճոյախոսություն (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · cy canmoliaeth (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · es halago (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Achtungsbezeugung (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pl pochlebstwo (courtesy, flattery) · es falago (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · tr övgü (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Schmeichelei (courtesy, flattery) · de Kompliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Ehrenbezeigung (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · fr compliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · hu bók (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Höflichkeitsbezeigung (courtesy, flattery) · ko 찬사 (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · bg похвала́ (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · be кампліме́нт (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · nb komplimang (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · cy compliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · sk kompliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · vo plim (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · hi प्रशंसा (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · be пахвала́ (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · fi imartelu (courtesy, flattery) · uk люб'я́зність (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · vi lời khen (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · cmn 道賀 /道贺 (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pl pochlebstwo (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · it complimento (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · es cumplido (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · th คำชมเชย (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · fi kohteliaisuus (courtesy, flattery) · tr kompliman (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · sa चाटु (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · es cumplimiento (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · es chicoleo (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Höflichkeitsbezeugung (courtesy, flattery) · acw مَدْحَة (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · acw مُجامَلة (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pl pochwała (courtesy, flattery) · ru похвала́ (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · cmn 稱讚 /称赞 (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ang ġeswǣsnes (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · bg комплимент (courtesy, flattery) · da kompliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ro compliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pl pochwała (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ru любе́зность (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · el φιλοφρόνηση (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · cs kompliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pl komplement (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · bg комплиме́нт (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ko 칭찬 (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · hi तारीफ़ (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Lob (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pt elogio (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · nl compliment (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · fi kohteliaisuus (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ru комплиме́нт (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · fi kohteliaisuudenosoitus (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · bg любе́зност (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · he מחמאה (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · tr iltifat (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · hy կոմպլիմենտ (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · uk похвала́ (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · mk комплимент (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · es chicoleo (courtesy, flattery) · uk компліме́нт (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · mi whakamihi (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · ar مَدْحَة (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · sa चाटुक्ति (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · de Kompliment (courtesy, flattery) · de Anerkennung (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · cs poklona (expression of praise, congratulation or respect) · pl komplement (courtesy, flattery)