Complement: meaning, definitions and examples
💯
complement
[ ˈkɒmplɪmənt ]
mathematics
A number added to another number to make a specific sum.
Synonyms
Examples of usage
- In the equation 5 + x = 10, x is the complement of 5.
- The complement of 12 is -12 in order to make the sum 0.
linguistics
A word or phrase that completes the meaning of another element in a sentence.
Examples of usage
- In the sentence 'She is very talented,' 'very talented' is the complement of 'She.'
- The complement of a verb can be a noun, pronoun, or adjective.
Translations
Translations of the word "complement" in other languages:
🇵🇹 complemento
🇮🇳 पूरक
🇩🇪 Ergänzung
🇮🇩 pelengkap
🇺🇦 доповнення
🇵🇱 uzupełnienie
🇯🇵 補完
🇫🇷 complément
🇪🇸 complemento
🇹🇷 tamamlayıcı
🇰🇷 보완
🇸🇦 مكمل
🇨🇿 doplňek
🇸🇰 doplnok
🇨🇳 补充
🇸🇮 dopolnilo
🇮🇸 viðbót
🇰🇿 толықтыру
🇬🇪 დამატება
🇦🇿 tamamlayıcı
🇲🇽 complemento
Word origin
The word 'complement' originated from Latin 'complementum,' meaning 'that which fills up or completes.' It entered the English language in the late 14th century. In mathematics, the term 'complement' was first used in the 17th century to refer to a number added to another to make a specific sum. In linguistics, the concept of complements has been studied extensively since the 20th century.
See also: complementary.