compositeadj.n.
/ˈkɒmpəzɪt/, /ˈkɒmpəsɪt/, /ˈkɒmpəzʌɪt/, /ˈkɒmpəsʌɪt/, U.S. /kəmˈpɑzət/, /ˌkɑmˈpɑzət/ A. adj.
1.
a. Made up of various parts or elements; compound; not simple in structure.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > state of being composite > [adjective]
compoundc1400
jointc1400
pieced1419
mixed?a1425
complexionatec1430
partyc1500
concrete1536
compost?1541
united1567
composed1570
compounded1570
integral1588
compositive1601
integrate1601
complicate1638
complexa1652
complicated1667
composite1678
co-unala1711
conglomerate1835
polylithic1961
1678 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV 27 It is impossible, in a composite sense, that the creature should not act and do that unto which it is premoved by the first cause.
1830 J. F. W. Herschel Prelim. Disc. Study Nat. Philos. ii. ii. 96 To analyse a composite phenomenon into simpler ones.
a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1859) II. xxxvi. 328 We cannot decompose what is not already composite.
1883 A. Roberts O.T. Revision ii. 28 The Book of Genesis is composite..a congeries of fragments collected from many different sources.
b. with of: = Compounded, composed. rare.
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1842 E. B. Browning Greek Christian Poets (1863) 17 A dithyrambic ode..composite of fantastic epithets.
2. Architecture.
a. The name of the fifth of the classical orders, being ‘composed of the Ionic grafted upon the Corinthian’. At first Composita (sc. columna).
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > column > [adjective] > classical orders
composite1563
Italic1563
Tuscan1563
Ionic?1566
compositive1601
Tuscanic1601
Doric1614
Ionical1624
Italian1624
Roman1624
compoundeda1639
compound ordera1639
Corinthiac1638
Corinthian1656
rustic1663
composed1728
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Bii This piller was firste buylded to his perfection in the time of Titus, Vespasianus, who..called it Composita, or as some doo name her Italica.
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. E iv b Tuscana, Dorica, Ionica, Corinthia, & Composita, increase their heightes by Diameters.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 40 The Composite Order must be made of the same proportions of the Corinthian.
1706 London Gaz. No. 4280/5 The Three Greek Orders, Dorick, Ionick, and Corinthian..and the Two Latin, Tuscan and Composita.
1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 95 Above there is placed a series of composite columns.
1851 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice I. App. vii. 359 Another order, the Composite, which is Ionic and Corinthian mixed..may be described as a spoiled Corinthian.
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b. composite arch: ‘the pointed or lancet arch’ (Gwilt).
3. Mathematics.† b. See quot. a1500: cf. compound adj. 2b.
a. composite number n. a number which is the product of two or more factors, greater than unity. [ < Latin numerus compositus (Isidore iii. v. 7).]
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the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > produced in a certain way > produced by two or more factors
compound number1557
flat numbers1557
compound1597
figurate1614
plain number1704
plane number1704
composite number1727
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Composite Number,..a compound Number, or a Number which may be divided by some Number less than the composite itself.
1772 Horsley Prime Numb. in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 62 327 Two or more numbers, which have any common integral divisor besides unity, are said to be Composite with respect to one another.
1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 4 A Composite Number is one which is the product of two or more numbers.
1859 B. Smith Arith. & Algebra (ed. 6) 20.
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the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure > with two or more figures
compositea1500
mixed number1552
compound number1557
binit1953
double digits1974
a1500 in Halliwell Brief Acc. S. Morland (1838) 20 Composittys be alle nombrys that ben componyd of a digyt and of an articule, as fourtene.
4. Natural History. Consisting of an organic aggregation of individuals, or of distinct parts.
a. Botany.† (b) Compound. Obsolete.
(a) Belonging to the family Compositæ, in which what is popularly called the flower consists really of a close head of many small flowers (‘florets’) sessile on a common receptacle, and surrounded by a common involucre of bracts; examples are the daisy, dandelion, tansy, marigold, aster, chrysanthemum, dahlia, sunflower. Also n. A plant of this order.In many Composites the florets of the ray or circumference differ in shape from those of the disc, being developed so as to look like petals; by cultivation, the florets of the disc may assume the same form, as in the daisy, dahlia, and common marigold; these two states are popularly called single and double.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [adjective]
intubaceous1657
corymbiferous1682
intybous1682
planifolious1687
cichoraceous1696
syngenesious1753
composite1832
syngenesian1840
cynareous1846
cynaraceous1847
synantherous1849
homocarpous1854
plecolepidous1858
compositous1859
synanthereous1859
asteraceous1876
cynaroid1882
tubulifloral1882
tubiflorous1888
tubuliflorous1891
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > composite plant
composite1832
1832 Pinnock Guide to Knowl. No. 11. 88/2 The whole autumnal season is remarkable for the reign of the Compositæ, or composite flowers.
1854 J. H. Balfour Outl. Bot. 449 The properties of Composite plants are various.
1861 S. Thomson Wanderings among Wild Flowers (rev. ed.) ii. 120 The head of a composite is made up of a number of..florets.
1882 Garden 10 June 405/1 Graceful single flowered Composites have become so popular.
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the world > life > biology > organism > [adjective] > compound or composite (of organism or organ)
compound1668
multiple1676
composite1753
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Stalk If the stalk divaricate, or, instead of sending out branches, it divide into them, it is called a composite stalk.
b. Zoology. Compound.
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1859 W. B. Carpenter Animal Physiol. (rev. ed.) xv. 554 The arborescent structures of the Composite Zoophytes.
1861 J. R. Greene Man. Animal Kingdom II. 205 The corallum of the Tabulata is mostly, if not always, composite.
c. Crystallography. Compound.
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1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics xxvi. 220 These strata are not united together like the parts of certain composite crystals.
5. Logic. Belonging to the terms collectively, but not to each separately; collective. (Cf. composition n. 4b.)
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the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [adjective] > fallacious > of types of fallacy
soritic1693
in dictione1826
non-logical1826
composite1864
1864 F. C. Bowen Logic (1870) ix. 278 Another ambiguity..is passing from the Composite to the Divisive, or from the Divisive to the Composite, meaning of a proposition.
6. In various technical uses:
a. Of ships: Built of both wood and iron; constructed of an iron framework covered with wood.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel of specific construction or shape > [adjective] > of composite construction
composite1878
1878 A. Brassey Voy. Sunbeam 1 (note) The ‘Sunbeam’.. may be technically defined as a screw composite three-masted topsail-yard Schooner.
1888 Daily News 10 Sept. 3/1 She is a composite vessel—that is, constructed of iron frames with a wood bottom, protected by copper sheathing.
b. composite carriage n. a railway-carriage with compartments of different classes. So a composite.
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society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage > carriage designed to carry passengers > other types of passenger carriage
caravan1821
private car1826
Jim Crow car1835
ladies' car1841
saloon car or carriage1842
palace car1844
ladies' carriage1847
parliamentary carriage1849
parlour car1859
composite carriage1868
Pullman1869
observation car1872
first1873
compo1878
bogie carriage1880
chair-car1880
club car1893
corridor carriage1893
tourist-car1895
birdcage1900
dog box1905
corridor coach1911
vista-dome1945
Stolypin1970
1868 Daily News 24 Aug. A composite (first and second class) carriage.
1883 Daily News 3 Jan. 2/4 Captain Price and Dr. Davies scrambled out of the capsized composite.
1887 Times 19 Sept. 10/2 He was in the bogie composite carriage.
c. composite candle n. one made of a mixture of stearic acid and the stearin of coco-nut oil; also absol.
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the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > made from animal fat > made from stearin or stearic acid
composite candle1845
stearic candle1852
composition-candle1861
1845 Mechanics' Mag. 60 A very cheap composite candle.
1857 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 334 There isn't a candle allowed..wax, dip, moulded, or composite.
1865 Look Before You Leap I. 176 A pair of hastily lit composites.
d. composite photograph, portrait: a single photographic portrait, produced by combining those of two or more persons. Also a composite.
e. composite (high) school: in Canada, a secondary school providing courses in academic, commercial, and industrial subjects.
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society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > other types of school
writing schoola1475
rectory1536
spelling school1704
greycoat1706
rural school1734
Charter School1763
home school1770
Philanthropine1797
British school1819
side school1826
prep school1829
trade school1829
Progymnasium1833
finishing-school1836
field schoola1840
field school1846
prairie school1851
graded school1852
model school1854
Philanthropinum1856
stagiary school1861
grade school1869
middle school1870
language school1878
correspondence school1889
day continuation school1889
prep1891
Sunday school1901
farm school1903
weekend school1907
Charter School1912
folk high school1914
pre-kindergarten1922
Rabfak1924
cram-shop1926
free school1926
crammer1931
composite school1943
outward-bound1943
blackboard jungle1954
pathshala1956
Vo-Tech1956
St. Trinian's1958
juku1962
cadre school1966
telecentre1967
academy2000
academy school2000
1943 Canada & Newfoundland Educ. Assoc. Rep. Survey C'ttee v. 63 Composite high schools should be located in advantageous locations so that rural children may benefit from diversified curricula.
1955 W. G. Hardy Alberta Golden Jubilee Anthol. 174 In Senior High, the new Composite School is changing the educational picture again; large school plants are being designed for the teaching of technical, commercial and academic subjects.
1958 Encycl. Canadiana III. 389 The composite school, an educational institution which offers a wide variety of instruction in the technical, vocational and academic fields, is a relatively recent type of secondary school.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 50 (advt.) This is a fully composite school with a projected enrolment of 1450 students for September 1968, and a pupil-teacher ratio of 17 to 1.
7. composite sailing in Nautical use: a combination of great-circle and parallel sailing.
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society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun] > types of navigation
great circle sailing1595
loxodromics1704
oblique sailing1704
orthodromics1704
right sailing1704
parallel sailing1705
orthodromy1706
plane sailing1749
composite sailing1850
loxodromy1855
radio navigation1926
hyperbolic navigation1945
satnav1970
hyperbolic system1972
1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 56 Another variety of the system is Composite Great Circle Sailing.
1868 Daily News 10 Sept. Connected with these tables was a sailing which Mr. Towson had designated ‘composite sailing’, by which he had enabled the mariner to take the nearest practical route when great circle sailing is not available.
B. n. (See also senses A. 3b, A. 4a, A. 6.)† 1. A component part. Obsolete. rare.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > constituent part or component
limbc1000
membera1382
elementc1386
parcelc1395
ingredientc1460
partc1530
ingredience1577
principle1594
simple1603
composer1610
partiment1641
component1644
constitutive1647
composite1657
integral1659
ingredient1674
aggregant1749
constituent1757
congredient1767
factor1816
integrant1825
inclusion1845
1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 12 If time and tune be the Composits of Musicke.
2.
a. A composite thing; anything made up of different parts or elements, a compound.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > state of being composite > [noun] > a composite thing or complex whole
aggregatea1425
wholec1450
partage1593
compagesa1638
complexa1652
composite1656
complexum1664
complicate1664
complexion1678
wholenessa1681
compagea1682
complication1750
synthesis1865
1656 tr. T. White Peripateticall Inst. 204 The Composit or compound must needs be, in some measure, dense.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Composites, (in Pharmacy) Medicines made up of many simple ones; as certain Waters, Syrups, Electuaries, etc.
1751 J. Harris Hermes iii. v. 425* Each man's Understanding..is a composite of natural Capacity, and of super-induced Habit.
1794 T. Taylor tr. Pausanias Descr. Greece I. Pref. 15 Beauty in every composite consists in the apt connexion of its parts with each other.
1870 J. R. Lowell Among my Bks. (1873) 1st Ser. 151 That wonderful composite called English.
b. A material made from two or more physically different constituents each of which largely retains its original structure and identity.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > [noun] > made of two or more constituents
composite1959
1959 Jrnl. Electrochem. Soc. 106 318/2 Ceramic-and-plastic composites.
1966 Engineer 27 May 816/1 Work on the application of these new carbon fibres is directed toward the manufacture of carbon-fibre composites having resinous matrices.
1967 Times Rev. Industry June 68/1 Upgrading of the physical properties has..been achieved by the production of composites, materials in which physical deficiencies in the plastics are compensated by the addition of reinforcing materials.
1970 Materials & Technol. III. xii. 881 An interesting new addition to the range of fibre reinforced composites is glass reinforced cement.
c. With pronunciation /kɒmpəˈzaɪt/. A composite resolution put before a Trades Union Congress, which has been compiled from several related resolutions proposed by trade unions or constituency Labour parties.
/kɒmpəˈzaɪt/. A composite resolution put before a Trades Union Congress, which has been compiled from several related resolutions proposed by trade unions or constituency Labour parties.ΚΠ
1971 Daily Tel. 5 Oct. 1/3 From the agendas..resolutions are plucked..to be amended..and finally extruded in a series of ‘composites’ (pronounced for obscure reasons to rhyme with ‘kites’).
1972 Daily Tel. 29 Apr. 14 The debate at Tenby was on a composite of motions on the issue set down by branches.
1978 Spectator 21 Oct. 33/1 He shows an ignorance of politics, perhaps not surprisingly, when he complains of a journalist accenting ‘composite’ on the last syllable, to rhyme with ‘flight’.
1984 Spectator 1 Sept. 13/3 Committees of General Council members and TUC officials wheedle, beg, hector or entrap those unions which have submitted resolutions into merging them in with others dealing with the same topic to produce omnibus resolutions—composites.
3. Grammar. A compound word or term. rare.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > [noun] > compounding > a compound
compound1530
composite1708
1708–15 J. Kersey Dict. Anglo-Britannicum Composite, a Term in Grammar; as A Composite, or Compounded Word.
1879 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 3) vii. 372 These [adjectives] are manifest Composites, they have been formed by the combination of two words.
Draft additions December 2013
composite flower n. [after post-classical Latin flos compositus (1700)] the superficially flower-like inflorescence characteristic of plants of the family Asteraceae ( Compositae), containing numerous smaller individual flowers that are typically represented by both disc florets and ray florets.
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1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Compounded This Composite Flower distinguishes a large Genus of Plants, which our Accurate Botanist , Mr. Ray, divides as follows.
1840 J. W. Loudon Ladies' Flower-garden Ornamental Annuals 269/2 A composite flower, consisting of disk and ray flowers, like the Daisy.
1918 F. D. Curtis Man. Exper. Elem. Sci. (Teacher's ed.) 168 Each of the little ‘tufts’ in the center of the composite flower is itself a perfect flower.
2012 Niagara this Week (Nexis) Oct. 4 1 The Common Burdock has a composite flower as do chrysanthemums.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
compositev.
/kɒmpəˈzʌɪt/ Politics.
transitive. To amalgamate (resolutions put before a party conference or Trades Union Congress) into one composite resolution.
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1962 Economist 8 Sept. 873/3 The Liberal executive keeps a watch over this agenda by compositing into multi-point motions the ideas.
1965 New Statesman 8 Oct. 506/3 Whereas Labour resolutions generally do have to be composited out of recognition, they at any rate are composited by the delegates themselves and, having been composited, they stand some chance of actually being debated.
1973 Daily Tel. 23 July 34/6 By the time the five-day conference opens on Oct. 1 it [sc. the agenda] will have been ‘composited’ into workable compass.
Derivatives
compoˈsiting n.
ΚΠ
1979 H. Wilson Final Term ix. 183 NEC members worried about their seats, or concerned with the ‘compositing’ of resolutions on the Saturday afternoon.
1985 Times 30 Sept. 32/1 He has attended ‘compositing’ negotiations to resist any change in the wording.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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adj.n.a1500
v.1962