consummate

English

WOTD – 30 September 2008

Etymology

From Latin cōnsummātus, past participle of cōnsummāre (“to sum up, finish, complete”), from com- (“together”) + summa (“the sum”) (see sum, summation).

Pronunciation

Adjective

• (UK) enPR: kŏn'səmət, kŏn'syo͝omət, kənsŭm'ĭt, IPA^(key): /ˈkɒnsəmət/, /ˈkɒnsjʊmət/, /kənˈsʌmɪt/
• (US) enPR: kŏn'səmət, kənsŭm'ĭt, IPA^(key): /ˈkɑnsəmət/, /kənˈsʌmɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

• (UK) enPR: kŏn'səmāt, kŏn'syo͝omāt, IPA^(key): /ˈkɒnsəmeɪt/, /ˈkɒnsjʊmeɪt/
• (US) enPR: kŏn'səmāt, IPA^(key): /ˈkɑnsəmeɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adjective

consummate (comparative more consummate, superlative most consummate)

1. Complete in every detail, perfect, absolute.

   Synonyms: absolute, complete, perfect, sheer, total, utter; see also Thesaurus:total

   • 1712 January 23, Joseph Addison; Richard Steele, “SATURDAY, January 12, 1711–1712 [Julian calendar]”, in The Spectator, number 273; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, OCLC 191120697:

     A man of perfect and consummate virtue.

   • 1859, George Meredith, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Chapter 5:

     A sweeping and consummate vengeance for the indignity alone should satisfy him.

   • 1880, Georges Bernard Shaw, The Irrational Knot, Chapter VII,

     […] Marmaduke, who had the consummate impudence to reply that […]

   • 1900, Guy Wetmore Carryl, "The Singular Sangfroid of Baby Bunting",

     Belinda Bellonia Bunting//Behaved like a consummate loon

2. Highly skilled and experienced; fully qualified.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:skilled

   a consummate sergeant

   • 1910, Lionel Giles (translator), The Art of War, Section IV (originally by Sun Tzu)

     The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, […]  ; thus it is in his power to control success.

Derived terms

• consummately

Translations

complete, perfect, absolute

• Afrikaans: voltrek
• Bulgarian: съвършен (bg) (sǎvǎršen), абсолютен (bg) (absoljuten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 完美 (zh) (wánměi)

• Dutch: volstrekt (nl), volslagen (nl)
• Finnish: täydellinen (fi), äärimmäinen (fi)
• French: consommé (fr)
• German: perfekt (de), vollkommen (de), vollendet (de), unübertrefflich (de), völlig (de), ausgemacht (de), äußerste (de)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: tökéletes (hu), teljes (hu)
• Indonesian: please add this translation if you can

• Italian: consumato (it), completo (it)
• Japanese: 完璧な (かんぺきな, kanpeki na), 完全な (かんぜんな, kanzen na)
• Latin: consummātus
• Polish: doskonały (pl) m, wytrawny (pl) m
• Portuguese: consumado (pt) m
• Russian: законченный (ru) (zakončennyj), соверше́нный (ru) (soveršénnyj), превосхо́дный (ru) (prevosxódnyj), высококвалифицированный (ru) (vysokokvalificirovannyj), виртуозный (ru) (virtuoznyj), законченный (ru) (zakončennyj), отпетый (ru) (otpetyj)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: fulländad (sv)
• Turkish: eksiksiz (tr)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

highly skilled and experienced

• Bulgarian: опитен (bg) (opiten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: volleerd (nl), volwaardig (nl)
• Finnish: täysinoppinut, pätevä (fi)

• German: hochqualifiziert, vollwertig (de), vollkommen (de), erfahren (de)
• Italian: consumato (it)
• Portuguese: consumado (pt) m
• Spanish: consumado (es)

Verb

consummate (third-person singular simple present consummates, present participle consummating, simple past and past participle consummated)

1. (transitive) To bring (a task, project, goal etc.) to completion; to accomplish.

   Synonyms: complete, finish, round off; see also Thesaurus:end

   • 1921, James Truslow Adams, The Founding of New England, chapter III:

     Although it was agreed by all that discovery must be consummated by possession and use, […]

   • 1922, Joris-Karl Huysmans, chapter X, in Havelock Ellis, transl., Against the Grain, translation of À rebours:

     In one word, in perfumery the artist completes and consummates the original natural odour, which he cuts, so to speak, and mounts as a jeweller improves and brings out the water of a precious stone.

2. (transitive) To make perfect, achieve, give the finishing touch.

   Synonyms: complete, perfect, top off

3. (transitive) To make (a marriage) complete by engaging in first sexual intercourse.

   the marriage was never consummated

   After the reception, he escorted her to the honeymoon suite to consummate their marriage.

   • 1890, Giovanni Boccaccio, “part 10”, in James MacMullen Rigg, transl., The Decameron, volume 2:

     […] in the essay which he made the very first night to serve her so as to consummate the marriage he made a false move, […]

4. (intransitive) To become perfected, receive the finishing touch.

   Synonyms: come to a head, mature, ripe

Derived terms

• consummation
• consummative
• consummator
• consummatory

Related terms

• consume

Translations

to bring something to completion

• Bulgarian: завършвам (bg) (zavǎršvam), довеждам докрай (doveždam dokraj)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: volbrengen (nl), voltooien (nl)
• Finnish: viedä päätökseen, viedä loppuun asti
• French: consommer (fr)

• German: vollenden (de), fertigstellen (de), vollbringen (de), vollziehen (de), fertig bringen, durchführen (de), zu Ende bringen, abrunden (de)
• Italian: complere, completare (it)
• Polish: zakończyć (pl)
• Portuguese: consumar (pt), perfectibilizar (pt)
• Russian: зака́нчивать (ru) impf (zakánčivatʹ), зако́нчить (ru) pf (zakónčitʹ), заверша́ть (ru) impf (zaveršátʹ), заверши́ть (ru) pf (zaveršítʹ)
• Spanish: consumar (es)

to make a marriage complete by engaging in first sexual intercourse

• Afrikaans: volvoer
• Bulgarian: консумирам (bg) (konsumiram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 圓房 (zh), 圆房 (zh) (yuánfáng)

• Dutch: consummeren (nl)
• Finnish: tulla mieheksi ja vaimoksi

• French: consommer (fr)
• German: vollziehen (de)
• Hebrew: בָּעַל‎ (he) (ba'ál) (biblical)
• Italian: consumare (it)
• Polish: skonsumować (pl) pf
• Spanish: consumar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} täiuslik

• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 完結させる (kanketsusuru), ^{(please verify)} 完了させる (kanryōsaseru), ^{(please verify)} 実現する (jitsugensuru)

Further reading

• consummate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• consummate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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Latin

Verb

cōnsummāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of cōnsummō