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complected

[kuh m-plek-tid]
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adjective
  1. complexioned (usually used in combination): a light-complected boy.
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Origin of complected

1800–10, Americanism; complect- (back formation from complexion, presumably taken as *complection) + -ed3

Usage note

Complected, a back formation from complexion, is an Americanism dating from the early 19th century. Although it has been criticized by some as a dialectal or nonstandard substitution for complexioned, it occurs in the speech of educated persons and occasionally in edited writing.

complect

[kuh m-plekt]
verb (used with object) Obsolete.
  1. to interweave; intertwine.
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Origin of complect

1515–25; < Latin complectī to embrace, enfold, equivalent to com- com- + plect(ere) to plait, braid + -ī passive infinitive ending; cf. complex
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for complected

sew, incorporate, entwine, construct, compose, zigzag, knit, create, fuse, fabricate, twist, fold, intertwine, careen, snake, splice, introduce, braid, spin, loop
British Dictionary definitions for complected

complected

adjective
  1. (in combination) a US dialect word for complexioned
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complect

verb
  1. (tr) archaic to interweave or entwine
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Word Origin for complect

C16: from Latin complectī; see complex
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for complected

adj.

1806, American English, "complexioned," a variant derivation from complexion, which, intentionally or not, shows the Latin root.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper