Complexities

How to spell complexities

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce complexities

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does complexities mean?

1. nounThe various intricate or interconnected aspects that make something difficult to understand or deal with.

Complexities in a sentence

• The lawyer explained the complexities of the new tax legislation.

• Navigating the complexities of international shipping took months of planning.

Where does complexities come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb complecti, meaning 'to entwine, embrace, or encompass', which was built from com- 'together' and plectere 'to weave or plait'. The literal image is of strands woven tightly together, which is exactly what we mean today when we call something complex: many parts intertwined. The related Latin past participle complexus gave English 'complex', and the noun 'complexity' was formed by adding the Latin abstract-noun ending -ity, arriving through French complexité in the seventeenth century. The plural 'complexities' simply pluralises that abstract noun to name multiple intricate aspects of a thing. The same plectere root quietly survives in 'plait', 'pleat', and even 'perplex', all of which carry that sense of folded or tangled threads, and remembering the woven 'plex' core helps fix the awkward middle of the spelling.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• plex (to weave or plait)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix)
• -es (plural)