Dictionary

composture en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kəmˈpɒst͡ʃə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /kəmˈpɑst͡ʃɚ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French composture (“compost”), from late Old French composture, possibly from Latin compositūra, compostūra (“composition”); equivalent to compost + -ure. Compare Portuguese compostura, Spanish compostura.

Meanings

1. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Compost, composted manure.
   • The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves The moon into salt tears; the earth's a thief, That feeds and breeds by a composture stolen From general excrement, each thing's a thief. 1607, Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act 4 Scene 3:
2. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Composition, makeup, formation.
3. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A kind of plaster.

Forms