Wiktionary

compost

English

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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compost (countable and uncountable, plural composts)

  1. 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.
  2. (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.
  3. (obsolete) A mixture; a compound.
    • a. 1660, Henry Hammond, God's Complaint Against Revolters:
      A sad compost of more bitter than sweet.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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compost (third-person singular simple present composts, present participle composting, simple past and past participle composted)

  1. To produce compost, let organic matter decay into fertilizer.
    If you compost your grass clippings, you can improve your soil.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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  • mulch (sometimes used interchangeably with compost)
  • humus

Anagrams

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Latin compostus, syncopated variant of compositus.

Adjective

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compost (feminine composta, masculine plural composts or compostos, feminine plural compostes)

  1. compound
    ull compost ― compound eye

Participle

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compost (feminine composta, masculine plural composts or compostos, feminine plural compostes)

  1. past participle of compondre

Etymology 2

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From the above, possibly influenced by English compost.

Noun

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compost m (plural composts or compostos)

  1. compost
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Further reading

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English compost.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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compost m or n (uncountable)

  1. compost, natural fertilizer produced by decaying organic matter

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Indonesian: kompos

French

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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compost m (plural composts)

  1. compost, natural fertilizer produced by decaying organic matter

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Italian

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Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English compost. Doublet of composto.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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compost m (invariable)

  1. compost

Further reading

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  • compost in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  • compost in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa

Old French

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Etymology

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From Latin compostus, syncopated variant of compositus, from compōnō (“I arrange, compile, compose, make up”).

Adjective

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compost m (oblique and nominative feminine singular composte)

  1. composed (of)

Descendants

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French compost.

Noun

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compost n (plural composturi)

  1. compost

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative compost compostul composturi composturile
genitive-dative compost compostului composturi composturilor
vocative compostule composturilor

Spanish

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Etymology

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From French compost (“mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" also "condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /komˈpost/ [kõmˈpost̪]
  • Rhymes: -ost
  • Syllabification: com‧post

Noun

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compost m (plural composts)

  1. compost
    Synonym: composta
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Further reading

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