compost
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English compost, from Old Northern French compost (“mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" also "condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”), from componere. Doublet of compote, which was taken from modern French, and composite.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɒmpɒst/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɑmpoʊst/
- Hyphenation: com‧post
Noun edit
compost (countable and uncountable, plural composts)
- The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizer.
- Dig plenty of compost into clay or sandy soil to improve its structure.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
- And do not spread the compost on the weeds / To make them ranker.
- 2014 April 21, Mary Keen, “You can still teach an old gardener new tricks: Even the hardiest of us gardeners occasionally learn useful new techniques [print version: Gardening is always ready to teach even the hardiest of us a few new tricks, 19 April 2014]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)[1], page G7:
- [T]he very wet winter will have washed much of the goodness out of the soil. Homemade compost and the load of manure we get from a friendly farmer may not be enough to compensate for what has leached from the ground.
- (UK) A medium in which one can cultivate plants.
- Once the seed tray is filled with compost, insert the seeds spaced 3 cm apart from one another.
- Royal Horticultural Society, Organic matter: what is it?[2], retrieved 2021-03-29:
- [T]he term 'compost' is commonly used to mean the material used to fill pots, seed trays and containers.
- (obsolete) A mixture; a compound.
- a. 1660, Henry Hammond, God's Complaint Against Revolters:
- A sad compost of more bitter than sweet.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Verb edit
compost (third-person singular simple present composts, present participle composting, simple past and past participle composted)
- To produce compost, let organic matter decay into fertilizer.
- If you compost your grass clippings, you can improve your soil.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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See also edit
Anagrams edit
Catalan edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Inherited from Latin compostus, syncopated variant of compositus.
Adjective edit
compost (feminine composta, masculine plural composts or compostos, feminine plural compostes)
- compound
- ull compost ― compound eye
Participle edit
compost (feminine composta, masculine plural composts or compostos, feminine plural compostes)
Etymology 2 edit
From the above, possibly influenced by English compost.
Noun edit
compost m (plural composts or compostos)
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “compost” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “compost” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from English compost.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
compost m or n (uncountable)
- compost, natural fertilizer produced by decaying organic matter
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- → Indonesian: kompos
French edit
Etymology edit
From a substantivation and specialization of old Norman compost, from (Old Northern French), Old French composte (“mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land; condiment”), from Latin compostus, syncopated variant of compositus (“composed, compound”), from componere. Modern French spelling influenced by English (compare the modern Norman spelling compôt, which is the expected form). Doublet of compote and composite.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
compost m (plural composts)
- compost, natural fertilizer produced by decaying organic matter
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “compost”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English compost. Doublet of composto.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
compost m (invariable)
Further reading edit
Old French edit
Etymology edit
From Latin compostus, syncopated variant of compositus, from compōnō (“I arrange, compile, compose, make up”).
Adjective edit
compost m (oblique and nominative feminine singular composte)
- composed (of)
Descendants edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
compost n (plural composturi)
Declension edit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) compost | compostul | (niște) composturi | composturile |
genitive/dative | (unui) compost | compostului | (unor) composturi | composturilor |
vocative | compostule | composturilor |
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
From French compost (“mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" also "condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
compost m (plural composts)
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “compost”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- compost on the Spanish Wikipedia.Wikipedia es