consummate

English

WOTD – 30 September 2008

Etymology

From Latin consummatus, past participle of consummare (“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)

Adjective

consummate (comparative more consummate, superlative most consummate)

1. Complete in every detail, perfect, absolute.
   • Addison

     A man of perfect and consummate virtue.

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

     Belinda Bellonia Bunting//Behaved like a consummate loon

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

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

2. Highly skilled and experienced; fully qualified.
   • a consummate sergeant
   • Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Section IV,

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

Synonyms

• (complete): absolute, complete, perfect, sheer, total, utter

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

• German: hochqualifiziert, vollwertig, 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.
   • 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, Havelock Ellis, Against the Grain, translation of À rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans, Chapter X:

     In one word, in perfumery the artist completes and consummates the original natural odour, […]

2. (transitive) To make perfect, achieve, give the finishing touch.
3. (transitive) To make (a marriage) complete by engaging in first sexual intercourse.

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

   • 1890, Giovanni Boccacio, translated by James MacMullen Rigg, The Decameron, Novel 2, part 10,

     […] 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

• (bring to completion): complete, finish, round off

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
• 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, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Latin

Verb

consummāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of consummō