verb (used without object), com·plied, com·ply·ing.
- to act or be in accordance with wishes, requests, demands, requirements, conditions, etc.; agree (sometimes followed by with): They asked him to leave and he complied. She has complied with the requirements.
- Obsolete. to be courteous or conciliatory.
verb -plies, -plying or -plied (intr)
- (usually foll by with) to act in accordance with rules, wishes, etc; be obedient (to)
- obsolete to be obedient or complaisant
early 14c., “to fulfill, carry out,” from Old French compli, past participle of complir “to accomplish, fulfill, carry out,” from Vulgar Latin *complire, from Latin complere “to fill up” (see complete (adj.)). Meaning influenced by ply (v.2). Sense of “to consent” began c.1600 and might have been a reintroduction from Italian, where complire had come to mean “satisfy by ‘filling up’ the forms of courtesy.”