complement – English noun declension

English noun forms of complement

Noun: complement
Singularcomplement
Pluralcomplements

Sample Sentences

  • Queequeg sought a passage to Christian lands. But the ship, having her full complement of seamen, spurned his suit; and not all the King his father's influence could prevail. [1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:]
  • Some 11 members of Somerton council's complement of 15 stepped down on Tuesday. [2009 October 30, The Guardian:]
  • History is the complement of poetry. [1854, James Stephen, On Desultory and Systematic Reading:]
  • It would be too much to imagine that improving stations will alone create a much needed new image in the public eye; a smartly turned out station staff is a very necessary complement to a smart station. [1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 255:]
  • London's Kings Place, now one year old, established itself as a venue for imaginative programming, a complement to the evergreen Wigmore Hall. [2009 December 13, The Guardian:]
  • Why has our grammar broken down at this point? It is not difficult to see why. For, we have failed to make any provision for the fact that only some Verbs in English (i.e. Verbs like those italicized in (5) (a), traditionally called Transitive Verbs) subcategorize ( = ‘takeʼ) an immediately following NP Complement, whereas others (such as those italicised in (5) (b), traditionally referred to as Intransitive Verbs) do not. [1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 7, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 340:]
  • The complement of blue is orange.
  • The complement of the odd numbers is the even numbers, relative to the natural numbers.
  • The complement of 01100101#95;2 is 10011010#95;2.
  • The complement of 01100101#95;2 is 10011011#95;2.
  • The complement of −123 is 123.
  • A DNA molecule is formed from two strands, each of which is the complement of the other.
  • perform all those works of mercy, which Clemens Alexandrinus calls amoris et amicitiæ impletionem et extentionem, the extent and complement of love[…]. [1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:]
  • And both encreast the prayse of woman kynde, / And both encreast her beautie excellent: / So all did make in her a perfect complement. [1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:]
  • A doleful case desires a doleful song,
  • Without vain art or curious complements. [1591, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses [The Tears of the Muses]: Polyhymnia:]
  • Garnish'd and deck'd in modest complement, [1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:]
  • A man should be judged by himselfe, and not by his complements. [1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 42, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:]

Etymology

From Middle English complement, from Latin complēmentum (“that which fills up or completes”), from compleō (“to fill up; to complete”) (English complete). Doublet of compliment. The verb is from the noun. See: Middle English Nouns 'complement', Latin Nouns 'complēmentum'.

Verbs referencing "complement"

Finnish Nouns komplementti.