Etymograph

English

accomplice

Accomplice comes from Old French complice ‘confederate’, from Latin complicō ‘fold together’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō1‘fold or lay together’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicō2as complicāre‘fold together’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400complice2‘confederate’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500complice2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591accomplice2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin complico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English accomplice
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Succeſſe vnto our valiant Generall, / And happineſſe to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, Latin complico‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, Latin complico‘fold or lay together’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicōWiktionary, English accompliceas complicāre‘fold together’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compliceWiktionary, English accomplice‘confederate’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compliceWiktionary, English accomplice
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591accompliceWiktionary, English accomplice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Succeſſe vnto our valiant Generall, / And happineſſe to…”

first attested First attested in 1550 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1550. The article a became part of the word, through the influence of the word accomplish.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’

complex, fiasco, flax, replication, flack, plexus, flagon, 33 more

through Latin plicō ‘fold or lay together’

apply, display, reply, employment, exploitation, exploit, employ, deploy, explicit, imply, replica, ploy, ply, implicit, inexplicable, supple, pliable, implicate, supplication, triplicate, splay, pliant, explication, 21 more

through Latin complicō ‘fold together’

complication, complicate

through Old French complice ‘confederate’

complicity

Today it means

noun An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “accomplice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin complico. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / accomplice

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