complaisance etymology

Etymology

• French: complaisance
• Latin: complacentia, from complacere, "to be pleasing or agreeable to"
• Proto-Indo-European: *pele-, "to be wide, flat"

Meaning

• Willingness to please others, often without regard to one's own feelings or beliefs
• A disposition to be obliging or agreeable
• A moral failing characterized by excessive servility or obsequiousness

Origin

The Latin word complacere, from which complaisance is derived, is a compound of com- ("completely, together") and placere ("to please"). It originally referred to the ability to please others with one's appearance, words, or actions. Over time, the meaning of complaisance shifted towards a more general sense of willingness to please, regardless of the means or the consequences.

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