compleat

[kuhm-pleet]

adjective

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

   the compleat actor, at home in comedy and tragedy.

compleat

/ kəmˈpliːt /

adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of compleat¹

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

Example Sentences

The guidebook was titled Hixby’s Lavishly Illustrated Guide to London: Compleat with Historical Reference, Architectural Significance, and Literary Allusions, though Penelope preferred to call it the Hixby’s Guide, as there are only so many hours in a day.

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“Eighty.eight . . . eighty-nine . . . ninety. Well done! Now, come sit down and let us begin. Hixby’s Lavishly Illustrated Guide to London: Compleat with Historical Reference, Architectural Significance, and Literary Allusions,” she said, reading off the cover.

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“Because I now suspect this,” Penelope said as she laid a hand on the book’s cover, “is the only copy of Hixby’s Lavishly Illustrated Guide to London: Compleat with Historical Reference, Architectural Significance, and Literary Allusions in existence.”

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

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When Joseph Whipple met Ona, however, he was convinced of her “thirst for compleat freedom.”

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