complexity
/kəmˈpleksəti/kuhm-PLEK-suh-tee
/kəmˈplɛksəti/kuhm-PLEK-suh-tee
Meaningbeing complex
Common meaning: the state of having many tangled parts
- comwith, together
- plexto foldLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1387 · scan
- itynoun ending: being so, the quality of
‘with, together’ + ‘to fold’ → complexity
Journey through time
- Latinplicō, plicāvī‘to fold’
- Englishcomplex‘made of many parts’
- Englishformed in English from complexcomplexity‘the state of having many tangled parts’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from complex + -ity.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), COMPLEX, p.125 · scan
Roots
- plicō, plicāvī Latin “to fold”
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app