definitions

complected

[ kuh m-plek-tid ]
/ kəmˈplɛk tɪd /

adjective

complexioned (usually used in combination): a light-complected boy.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

complaisant, complanate, compleat, compleat angler, the, complect, complected, complection, complement, complement binding assay, complement clause, complement fixation

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.

Definition for complected (2 of 2)

complect

[ kuh m-plekt ]
/ kəmˈplɛkt /

verb (used with object) Obsolete.

to interweave; intertwine.

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. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for complected (1 of 2)

complected

/ (kəmˈplɛktɪd) /

adjective

(in combination) a US dialect word for complexioned

British Dictionary definitions for complected (2 of 2)

complect

/ (kəmˈplɛkt) /

verb

(tr) archaic to interweave or entwine

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

complected

adj.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper