Other forms: comprises, comprising, comprised
To comprise is to be made up of certain parts. The committee comprises nine members. The book comprises four essays.
The whole comes first and the parts follow, which is the opposite of compose: the parts compose the whole, and the whole comprises the parts. The construction comprised of is very widely used and equally widely objected to — careful writers say composed of or consists of instead. It is formal and belongs to reports and descriptions. Note consist of, which is the safe everyday equivalent and never causes an argument.
1verbcompriseTo be made up of particular parts.
“The estate comprises three farms and a mill.”
synonyms: consist of, be made up of
2verbwholeTo make up a whole.
“Women comprise about a third of the workforce.”
comprise is a way of being made up.
Also accepted in games: consist of
Latin comprehendere meant to grasp or take in — the same verb behind comprehend and comprehensive. To comprise is to take everything in, which is why the whole rather than the parts is the subject.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʰed-
Latin
comprehendere
Old French
compris
Middle English
comprisen
English, today
comprise
Built from
From Middle English comprisen, from Old French compris, past participle of comprendre, from Latin comprehendere, contr. comprendere, past participle comprehensus (“to comprehend”); see comprehend. Compare apprise, reprise, surprise.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA