# compliment

Pronunciation: US say "KOM-pluh-muhnt" /ˈkɑmpləmənt/; UK say "KOM-pli-muhnt" /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/

## Noun

1. A remark or other expression of praise, congratulation, or respect directed at someone.
   - Simple: Kind words that praise someone, congratulate them, or show respect for them.
   - _He paid her a compliment on her speech, and she blushed._
   - _Coming from a chef that famous, the review was the highest compliment the restaurant could hope for._
3. Language that is complimentary in general, whether polite courtesy or flattery.
   - Simple: Nice, polite words that praise someone, sometimes more than they deserve.
   - _The ambassador's reply was a page of elaborate compliment that committed his government to nothing._
   - _Coaches who deal in empty compliment soon find their players no longer listen._

## Verb

2. To express praise or a favorable opinion, whether to a person directly or about them.
   - Simple: To say something nice about someone or to them.
   - _The judges complimented the young pianist on her control of the slow movement._
   - _Some managers criticize freely but rarely compliment, and their teams notice._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3** — Borrowed from French compliment, itself from Italian complimento, which was borrowed from Spanish cumplimiento, from cumplir ("to comply, complete, do what is proper") + -miento, or from Latin complēmentum. It is a doublet of complement and replaced the Old English word ġeswǣsnes.
**Meaning 2** — Borrowed from French complimenter, from compliment + the verb-forming suffix -er.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/compliment (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).