composition

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com·po·si·tion

(kŏm′pə-zĭsh′ən)

a. The combining of distinct parts or elements to form a whole.

b. The manner in which such parts are combined or related.

c. General makeup: the changing composition of the electorate.

d. The result or product of composing; a mixture or compound.

2. Arrangement of artistic parts so as to form a unified whole.

a. The art or act of composing a musical or literary work.

b. A work of music, literature, or art, or its structure or organization.

4. A short essay, especially one written as an academic exercise.

5. Law A settlement whereby the creditors of a debtor about to enter bankruptcy agree, in return for some financial consideration, usually proffered immediately, to the discharge of their respective claims on receipt of payment which is in a lesser amount than that actually owed on the claim.

6. Linguistics The formation of compounds from separate words.

7. Printing Typesetting.

[Middle English composicioun, from Old French composition, from Latin compositiō, compositiōn-, from compositus, past participle of compōnere, to put together; see component.]

com′po·si′tion·al adj.

com′po·si′tion·al·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

composition

(ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən)

1. the act of putting together or making up by combining parts or ingredients

2. something formed in this manner or the resulting state or quality; a mixture

3. the parts of which something is composed or made up; constitution

4. (Music, other) a work of music, art, or literature

5. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a work of music, art, or literature

6. (Art Terms) a work of music, art, or literature

7. (Art Terms) the harmonious arrangement of the parts of a work of art in relation to each other and to the whole

8. (Education) a piece of writing undertaken as an academic exercise in grammatically acceptable writing; an essay

9. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing the act or technique of setting up type

10. (Linguistics) linguistics the formation of compound words

11. (Logic) logic the fallacy of inferring that the properties of the part are also true of the whole, as every member of the team has won a prize, so the team will win a prize

12. (Law)

a. a settlement by mutual consent, esp a legal agreement whereby the creditors agree to accept partial payment of a debt in full settlement

b. the sum so agreed

13. (Chemistry) chem the nature and proportions of the elements comprising a chemical compound

[C14: from Old French, from Latin compositus; see composite, -ion]

ˌcompoˈsitional adj

ˌcompoˈsitionally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•po•si•tion

(ˌkɒm pəˈzɪʃ ən)

n.

1. the manner of being composed; arrangement or combination of parts or elements.

2. the parts or elements of which something is composed; makeup; constitution.

3. the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole.

4. the resulting state or product.

5. an aggregate material formed from two or more substances.

6. a short essay written as a school exercise.

7. the act or process of producing a literary work.

8. a piece of music.

9. the act or art of composing music.

10. the organization or grouping of the different parts of a work of art so as to achieve a unified whole.

11. the process of forming compound words.

12. a settlement by mutual agreement.

13.

a. the setting up of type for printing.

b. the makeup of pages for printing.

[1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin compositiō=composi-, variant s. of compōnere (see component) + -tiō -tion]

com`po•si′tion•al, adj.

com`po•si′tion•al•ly, adv.

Composition

an aggregate; a mixture; objects or persons of different natures associated together.

composition

The organization of the parts of a work into a unified whole.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	composition - the spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole; "harmonious composition is essential in a serious work of art" composing placement, arrangement - the spatial property of the way in which something is placed; "the arrangement of the furniture"; "the placement of the chairs"
	2.	composition - the way in which someone or something is composed physical composition, make-up, makeup, constitution property - a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class; "a study of the physical properties of atomic particles" structure - the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts; "artists must study the structure of the human body"; "the structure of the benzene molecule" phenotype - what an organism looks like as a consequence of the interaction of its genotype and the environment genetic constitution, genotype - the particular alleles at specified loci present in an organism texture, grain - the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance); "breadfruit has the same texture as bread"; "sand of a fine grain"; "fish with a delicate flavor and texture"; "a stone of coarse grain" karyotype - the appearance of the chromosomal makeup of a somatic cell in an individual or species (including the number and arrangement and size and structure of the chromosomes)
	3.	composition - a mixture of ingredients mixture - (chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding) paste - any mixture of a soft and malleable consistency ambrosia, beebread - a mixture of nectar and pollen prepared by worker bees and fed to larvae compost - a mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer soup - any composition having a consistency suggestive of soup
	4.	composition - a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements" musical composition, opus, piece of music, piece morceau - a short literary or musical composition sheet music - a musical composition in printed or written form; "she turned the pages of the music as he played" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner musical arrangement, arrangement - a piece of music that has been adapted for performance by a particular set of voices or instruments realisation, realization - a musical composition that has been completed or enriched by someone other than the composer coda, finale - the closing section of a musical composition intermezzo - a short piece of instrumental music composed for performance between acts of a drama or opera allegro - a musical composition or musical passage to be performed quickly in a brisk lively manner allegretto - a musical composition or musical passage to be performed at a somewhat quicker tempo than andante but not as fast as allegro andante - a musical composition or musical passage to be performed moderately slow introit - a composition of vocal music that is appropriate for opening church services solo - a musical composition for one voice or instrument (with or without accompaniment) duette, duo, duet - a musical composition for two performers trio - a musical composition for three performers quartette, quartet - a musical composition for four performers quintet, quintette - a musical composition for five performers sextet, sextette, sestet - a musical composition written for six performers septette, septet - a musical composition written for seven performers octette, octet - a musical composition written for eight performers bagatelle - a light piece of music for piano divertimento, serenade - a musical composition in several movements; has no fixed form canon - a contrapuntal piece of music in which a melody in one part is imitated exactly in other parts etude - a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity idyl, pastoral, pastorale, idyll - a musical composition that evokes rural life toccata - a baroque musical composition (usually for a keyboard instrument) with full chords and rapid elaborate runs in a rhythmically free style fantasia - a musical composition of a free form usually incorporating several familiar themes musical passage, passage - a short section of a musical composition movement - a major self-contained part of a symphony or sonata; "the second movement is slow and melodic" largo - (music) a composition or passage that is to be performed in a slow and dignified manner larghetto - (music) a composition or passage played in a slow tempo slightly faster than largo but slower than adagio suite - a musical composition of several movements only loosely connected symphonic poem, tone poem - an orchestral composition based on literature or folk tales medley, pastiche, potpourri - a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources nocturne, notturno - a pensive lyrical piece of music (especially for the piano) adagio - (music) a composition played in adagio tempo (slowly and gracefully); "they played the adagio too quickly" song, vocal - a short musical composition with words; "a successful musical must have at least three good songs" study - a composition intended to develop one aspect of the performer's technique; "a study in spiccato bowing" capriccio - an instrumental composition that doesn't adhere to rules for any specific musical form and is played with improvisation motet - an unaccompanied choral composition with sacred lyrics; intended to be sung as part of a church service; originated in the 13th century program music, programme music - musical compositions intended to evoke images or remind the listener of events incidental music - music composed to accompany the action of a drama or to fill intervals between scenes
	5.	composition - musical creation composing creating by mental acts - the act of creating something by thinking arranging, transcription, arrangement - the act of arranging and adapting a piece of music realisation, realization - the completion or enrichment of a piece of music left sparsely notated by a composer recapitulation - (music) the repetition of themes introduced earlier (especially when one is composing the final part of a movement)
	6.	composition - the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" authorship, penning, writing verbal creation - creating something by the use of speech and language adoxography - fine writing in praise of trivial or base subjects; "Elizabethan schoolboys were taught adoxography, the art of eruditely praising worthless things"; "adoxography is particularly useful to lawyers" drafting - writing a first version to be filled out and polished later dramatisation, dramatization - conversion into dramatic form; "the play was a dramatization of a short story" fabrication, fictionalisation, fictionalization - writing in a fictional form historiography - the writing of history metrification - writing a metrical composition (or the metrical structure of a composition) novelisation, novelization - converting something into the form of a novel redaction - the act of putting something in writing lexicography - the act of writing dictionaries versification - the art or practice of writing verse indite, pen, write, compose - produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" write about, write of, write on - write about a particular topic; "Snow wrote about China" profile - write about; "The author of this article profiles a famous painter" paragraph - write paragraphs; work as a paragrapher dash off, fling off, scratch off, toss off, knock off - write quickly; "She dashed off a note to her husband saying she would not be home for supper"; "He scratched off a thank-you note to the hostess" rewrite - rewrite so as to make fit to suit a new or different purpose; "re-write a play for use in schools" write copy - write for commercial publications; "She writes copy for Harper's Bazaar" dramatise, dramatize, adopt - put into dramatic form; "adopt a book for a screenplay" draft, outline - draw up an outline or sketch for something; "draft a speech" author - be the author of; "She authored this play" co-author - be a co-author on (a book, a paper) ghostwrite, ghost - write for someone else; "How many books have you ghostwritten so far?" annotate, footnote - add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments; "The scholar annotated the early edition of a famous novel" reference, cite - refer to; "he referenced his colleagues' work" write out, write up - put into writing; write in complete form; "write out a contract" script - write a script for; "The playwright scripted the movie"
	7.	composition - art and technique of printing with movable type typography printing process, printing - reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication
	8.	composition - an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition" paper, theme, report essay - an analytic or interpretive literary composition term paper - a composition intended to indicate a student's progress during a school term
	9.	composition - something that is created by arranging several things to form a unified whole; "he envied the composition of their faculty" creation - an artifact that has been brought into existence by someone paste-up - a composition of flat objects pasted on a board or other backing; "they showed him a paste-up of the book jacket"

composition

noun

1. design, form, structure, make-up, organization, arrangement, constitution, formation, layout, configuration Materials of different composition absorb and reflect light differently.

2. creation, work, piece, production, opus, masterpiece, chef-d'oeuvre (French) Bach's compositions are undoubtedly among the greatest ever written.

3. essay, writing, study, exercise, treatise, literary work Write a composition on the subject `What I Did on My Holidays'.

4. arrangement, balance, proportion, harmony, symmetry, concord, consonance, placing Let us study the composition of this painting.

5. creation, making, production, fashioning, formation, putting together, invention, compilation, formulation These plays are arranged in order of their composition.

Quotations
"At school, composition tests your stamina, whereas translation requires intelligence. But in later life you can scoff at those who did well in composition" [Gustave Flaubert The Dictionary of Received Ideas]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

composition

noun

1. Something that is the result of creative effort:

opus, piece, production, work.

2. A relatively brief discourse written especially as an exercise:

essay, paper, theme.

3. Law. A settlement of differences through mutual concession:

accommodation, arrangement, compromise, give-and-take, medium, settlement.

Translations

إنْشاءتأليفتَأليفتَأليف، تَرْكيبتَرْكِيب

skladbasloženíkompoziceskládání

kompositionopbygningsammensætningstilkomponering

Komposition Aufsatz Zusammensetzung Zusammenstellung Komponieren

σύνθεση σύσταση

composición redacción

koostaminen

composition rédaction composé

sastav

fogalmazásiskolai fogalmazáskompozíciózeneszerzés

ritgerîsamningsamsetningverk

composizione costituzione materia artificiale tema trattato

構成

구성

compositie

komposisjon stil utarbeidelse komponering

kompozycja

composição

композиционный композиция состав сочинение

komponovaniekompozíciazloženie

spis

komposition

การจัดวางองค์ประกอบ

bestebeste yapmabestelemebileşim kompozisyon

sự tập hợp

作品作文写作构成成分组成

composition

[ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən] N

1. (Mus) (= act of composing, thing composed) → composición f (Literat) → redacción f

2. (Art) (= make-up) → composición f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

composition

[ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃ^ən] n

(= essay) → rédaction f, dissertation f

(musical) → composition f

(= make-up) → composition f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

composition

(= act of composing, of music) → Komponieren nt; (of letter) → Abfassen nt, → Aufsetzen nt; (of poem) → Verfassen nt; music of his own composition → selbst komponierte Musik; verse of her own composition → selbst verfasste Verse pl

(= arrangement, Mus, Art) → Komposition f; (Mus: = theory of composition also) → Kompositionslehre f

(Sch: = essay) → Aufsatz m

(= constitution, make-up) → Zusammensetzung f; (of sentence) → Aufbau m, → Konstruktion f; to change the composition of something → die Zusammenstellung einer Sache (gen) → ändern; to decide on the composition of something → etw zusammenstellen; this medicine is a composition of … → dieses Medikament setzt sich aus … zusammen; there is a touch of madness in his composition (old, liter) → in ihm findet sich die Anlage zum Wahnsinn

(= artificial substance) → Kunststoff m

(Typ) → Setzen nt; composition by hand → Handsatz m, → manueller Satz

(Jur) → Vergleich m

composition

in cpds → Kunst-;

composition rubber

n → synthetischer Kautschuk

composition sole

n → Kunststoffsohle f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

composition

[ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃ/ən] n → composizione f

compose

(kəmˈpəuz) verb

1. to form by putting parts together. A word is composed of several letters.

2. to write (eg music, poetry etc). Mozart began to compose when he was six years old.

3. to control (oneself) after being upset.

comˈposed adjective

(of people) quiet and calm. She looked quite composed.

comˈposer noun

a writer, especially of a piece of music.

composition (kompəˈziʃən) noun

1. something composed, eg music. his latest composition.

2. the act of composing. the difficulties of composition.

3. an essay written as a school exercise. The children had to write a composition about their holiday.

4. the parts of which a thing is made. Have you studied the composition of the chemical?

comˈposure (-ʒə) noun

calmness. I admired her composure.

composition

→ تَرْكِيب skladba komposition Komposition σύνθεση composición koostaminen composition sastav composizione 構成 구성 compositie komposisjon kompozycja composição состав komposition การจัดวางองค์ประกอบ beste sự tập hợp 构成成分

com·po·si·tion

n. composición, mezcla, compuesto.

References in classic literature ?

Let us return to the "Examination." The first composition that was read was one entitled "Is this, then, Life?" Perhaps the reader can endure an ex- tract from it:

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But I love writing compositions. Mostly Miss Stacy lets us choose our own subjects; but next week we are to write a composition on some remarkable person.

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Cobb, Rebecca made a poor hand at composition writing at this time.

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[1276b] say the men are the same, but the city is different: for if a city is a community, it is a community of citizens; but if the mode of government should alter, and become of another sort, it would seem a necessary consequence that the city is not the same; as we regard the tragic chorus as different from the comic, though it may probably consist of the same performers: thus every other community or composition is said to be different if the species of composition is different; as in music the same hands produce different harmony, as the Doric and Phrygian.

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I proceeded to give my lesson; it was a "Composition," i.e., I dictated certain general questions, of which the pupils were to compose the answers from memory, access to books being forbidden.

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Of course there can be no exact parallel between arts so different as architecture and poetic composition: But certainly in the poetry of our day also, though it has been in some instances powerfully initiative and original, there is great scholarship, a large comparative acquaintance with the poetic methods of earlier workmen, and a very subtle intelligence of their charm.

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The public are, in general, very ready to adopt the opinion, that he who has pleased them in one peculiar mode of composition, is, by means of that very talent, rendered incapable of venturing upon other subjects.

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These poetic fragments clearly antedate the "Life" itself, which seems to have been so written round them as to supply appropriate occasions for their composition. Epigram iii on Midas of Larissa was otherwise attributed to Cleobulus of Lindus, one of the Seven Sages; the address to Glaucus (xi) is purely Hesiodic; xiii, according to MM.

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"My dear colleagues," said Barbicane, without further preamble, "the subject now before us is the construction of the engine, its length, its composition, and its weight.

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He spent the first forty years of his life in acquiring knowledge, but having failed to obtain his doctor's degree, he returned to the quiet hills of his native province and dedicated his remaining years to composition. Most of his poems, other than certain political satire, which drew on him the Emperor's wrath, are full of subtle sadness and fragrant regret, reminding one of pot-pourri in some deep blue porcelain bowl.

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This expression, which may be called a line, was taken up and repeated by the crowd; others might be added to it, and thus gradually, in the course of generations, arose the regular habit of communal composition, composition of something like complete ballads by the throng as a whole.

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The composition of the one would in this case counteract that of the other.

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