Complimental

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or conveying praise, admiration, or a flattering remark about someone or something
2. Giving or expressing approval and good wishes in the form of kind words toward another person
3. Serving as a polite expression of regard, esteem, or commendation in speech or writing

Etymology: "Complimental" is formed from "compliment" plus the adjective suffix "-al", so it simply means "of or relating to a compliment," and in practice it carries the sense of polite praise. The noun "compliment" itself came into English from French "compliment," a word that originally meant "fulfilment" or "completion" before it came to mean a courteous gesture, so the praise sense is a later development built onto the older idea of fulfilling a social obligation. The adjective is a piecewise doublet of "complemental," a word whose meaning was tied to completion or filling up. The two forms share a common root in Latin "complere," "to fill up," yet they split apart in English: one became a term of courtesy, the other stayed closer to its sense of completeness. The Oxford English Dictionary records "complimental" as an adjective in its own right, showing that the praise-related form developed its own identity alongside the older one.