compleat

American  

[kuhm-pleet] / kəmˈplit /

adjective

1. highly skilled and accomplished in all aspects; complete; total.

   the compleat actor, at home in comedy and tragedy.

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compleat British  

/ kəmˈpliːt /

adjective

1. an archaic spelling of complete, used esp in the titles of handbooks, in imitation of The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton

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Etymology

Origin of compleat

1875–80; earlier spelling of complete, used phrasally in allusion to The Compleat Angler ( def. )

Example Sentences

Dovedale and its river were immortalised by Izaak Walton in his famous 17th Century fishing book, The Compleat Angler.

From BBC

With the aid of two 18th-century books by the Cambridge scholar Robert Smith — “Harmonics” and “A Compleat System of Opticks” — he began to tackle astronomy with the same autodidactic zeal employed when learning English through the dense texts of John Locke.

From New York Times

Danny Kilbert, owner of the Compleat Strategist, a board game and puzzle store in Midtown, said he will comply with the mandate when it’s official, but wonders if it will stick.

From Seattle Times

Away from stage and screen he was a keen fly fisherman, once appearing in a DVD series, The Compleat Angler, in which he retraced Izaak Walton's classic 17th-Century book.

From BBC

Thomas Chamberlayne, author of The Compleat Midwife’s Practice Enlarged, suggested peeing into a jar and waiting three days.

From Slate