Compliance

How to spell compliance

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce compliance

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does compliance mean?

1. nounThe act of conforming to a rule, request, demand, or set of standards.

Compliance in a sentence

• The factory passed its annual safety compliance inspection.

• Our legal team monitors compliance with data protection laws.

Where does compliance come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Compliance is the noun built on the verb comply, which traces back to the Latin complere, meaning 'to fill up' or 'to fulfil'. The word reached English in the early 1600s by way of the Italian complire and Spanish cumplir, which had drifted in sense from 'fulfilling' a duty toward the idea of 'being courteous' or fulfilling the expectations of others. In its earliest English use, to comply with someone was to be polite and accommodating to them, and compliance described that obliging, agreeable disposition. Over time the meaning hardened from social politeness into the modern sense of conforming to a rule, request, or standard, which is why the word is now so common in legal and corporate writing. The same complere root sits inside complete and complement, a useful reminder that the middle is spelled compli-, not comply- as the verb would suggest, and that the ending is -ance rather than -ence.

How the word is built

• comply (from Latin complere: to fill up, fulfil)
• -ance (noun suffix forming a state or quality)