composite

Meanings

Adjective

• Made up of multiple components; compound or complex.
• Being a mixture of Ionic and Corinthian styles.
• Having factors other than itself and one; not prime and not one.
• Belonging to the Asteraceae family (formerly known as Compositae), bearing involucrate heads of many small florets.
• Employing multiple exposures on a single plate, so as to create an average view of something, such as faces in physiognomy.

Noun

• A mixture of different components.
• A structural material that gains its strength from a combination of complementary materials.
• A plant belonging to the family Asteraceae, syn. Compositae.
• A function of a function.
• Short form of composite number
• A drawing, photograph, etc. that combines several separate pictures or images.
• A railway carriage with compartments for two different classes of travel; see Composite Corridor.

Verb

• To make a composite.

Origin

• Borrowed from Middle French composite, from Latin compositus, past participle of compōnō. compost.