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Added 9 October 2026

comply

/kəmˈplaɪ/ verb

Latin root: complēre Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about comply at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To yield assent; to accord; to acquiesce, agree, consent; to adapt oneself, to conform.
comply with rules
To accomplish, to fulfil. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
To be ceremoniously courteous; to make one's compliments.

Origin

From Italian complire, Catalan complir (“to complete, fulfil; to carry out”), Spanish cumplir (“to complete, fulfil”), (alternatively from Old French compli), from Latin complēre, from compleō (“to finish, complete; to fulfil”), from com- (prefix indicating completeness of an act) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, near; by, with”)) + pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The word is very close to the French verb complaire which means to satisfy or to please. The word is also cognate with Old French complir (“to accomplish, complete; to do”) (modern French accomplir (“to accomplish, achieve”)). Compare complete, compliment.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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