comply
pronunciation
How to pronounce comply in British English:
UK [kəmˈplaɪ]
How to pronounce comply in American English:
US [kəmˈplaɪ]
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- Verb:
- act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes
Word Origin
- comply
- comply: [17] Like accomplish, complete, complement, and compliment, comply comes from Latin complēre ‘fill up, finish’. It was originally acquired in the 14th century, via Old French complire, but does not seem to have survived, and the sudden explosion in its use in the early 17th century represents a new borrowing, from Italian complire. Italian had the word from Spanish cumplir, in which the meaning ‘be courteous’ had developed. This passed into English, and though long defunct, seems to have been the basis of the modern English sense ‘be amenable or obedient’. Compliant [17] is an English development.=> complete, compliant, compliment
- comply (v.)
- early 14c., "to fulfill, carry out," from Old French compli, past participle of complir "to accomplish, fulfill, carry out," from Vulgar Latin *complire, from Latin complere "to fill up" (see complete (adj.)). Meaning influenced by ply (v.2). Sense of "to consent" began c. 1600 and might have been a reintroduction from Italian, where complire had come to mean "satisfy by 'filling up' the forms of courtesy."
Example
- 1. Or comply , and initiate violence ?
- 2. Those that do not comply may lose their assets and operating licences .
- 3. First , hectoring by the us makes it simply impossible for the chinese to comply .
- 4. If they are afraid that this powerful person can do something they don 't like , others might comply just to avoid the problem .
- 5. But they are unlikely to avert a nasty credit crunch , because banks are inclined to shed assets , rather than make new loans , as they strive to comply with new capital rules by next june .