COMPOSE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Compose

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/kəmpˈoʊz/ Listen

verb

Compose v. t. (past & past part. composed; pres. part. composing)

1.

To form by putting together two or more things or parts; to put together; to make up; to fashion. "Zeal ought to be composed of the highest degrees of all pious affection."

2.

To form the substance of, or part of the substance of; to constitute. "Their borrowed gold composed The calf in Oreb." "A few useful things... compose their intellectual possessions."

3.

To construct by mental labor; to design and execute, or put together, in a manner involving the adaptation of forms of expression to ideas, or to the laws of harmony or proportion; as, to compose a sentence, a sermon, a symphony, or a picture. "Let me compose Something in verse as well as prose." "The genius that composed such works as the "Standard" and "Last Supper"."

4.

To dispose in proper form; to reduce to order; to put in proper state or condition; to adjust; to regulate. "In a peaceful grave my corpse compose." "How in safety best we may Compose our present evils."

5.

To free from agitation or disturbance; to tranquilize; to soothe; to calm; to quiet. "Compose thy mind; Nor frauds are here contrived, nor force designed."

6.

(Print.) To arrange (types) in a composing stick in order for printing; to set (type).

Compose v. i. To come to terms. (Obs.)

See images of 'Compose'

Etymology of 'Compose'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Compose" Quotes from Famous Books

... stimulate the readers to think for themselves. It is only through the exchange of the results of investigations, and of honest opinions, that we have been able to add improvement to improvement, and make easier the routine of our lives. The conditions and elements that compose Nature, for the sake of clearness, I will ofttimes call "God." I shall be more easily understood, and at times the term "God" will express more succinctly the thoughts or ...

— Tyranny of God • Joseph Lewis

... German composer, grandson of the succeeding, born in Hamburg; he began to compose early in life, and his compositions consisted of symphonies, operas, oratorios, and church music; his oratorios of "St. Paul" and "Elijah" are well known, and are enduring monuments of his genius; he was a man universally loved and esteemed, and ...

— The Nuttall Encyclopaedia - Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge • Edited by Rev. James Wood

... sat there with a rueful countenance, the thought passed through his mind, "If, now, the wind would but give me the least idea how to begin, I might compose a tale while I wait for a hackney coach, for walk I won't!" and he looked up and down the street, but ...

— Funny Big Socks - Being the Fifth Book of the Series • Sarah L. Barrow

... the small (hrasva) [Footnote ref 2]. Of course two atoms generate a dyad, but then the number (sa@mkhya) of the atom should be regarded as bringing forth a new kind of measure, namely the small (hrasva) measure in the dyads. So again when three dyads (dya@nuka) compose a trya@nuka the number ...

— A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1 • Surendranath Dasgupta

... a deathblow to Afy's vanity. The worst it had ever received; and she took a few minutes to compose herself, and smooth her ruffled feathers. Then she turned and sailed back toward Mr. Jiffin's, her turban up in the skies and the plume de coq tossing to the admiration of all beholders, especially of Miss Carlyle, ...

— East Lynne • Mrs. Henry Wood

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