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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
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

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