composite

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French composite, from Latin compositus, past participle of compōnō (“put together”). Doublet of compost.

adj

1. Made up of multiple components; compound or complex.
2. (architecture) Being a mixture of Ionic and Corinthian styles.
3. (mathematics) Having factors other than itself and one; not prime and not one.
4. (botany) Belonging to the Asteraceae family (formerly known as Compositae), bearing involucrate heads of many small florets.
5. (photography, historical) Employing multiple exposures on a single plate, so as to create an average view of something, such as faces in physiognomy.
   composite portraiture; a composite photograph
   [B]y photographing a number of faces on the same plate, and so superimposing their images on one another, he produces a so-called "composite" photograph or image. 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 92

noun

1. A mixture of different components.
2. A structural material that gains its strength from a combination of complementary materials.
3. (botany) A plant belonging to the family Asteraceae, syn. Compositae.
4. (mathematics) A function of a function.
5. (mathematics) Clipping of composite number.
6. (chiefly law enforcement) A drawing, photograph, etc. that combines several separate pictures or images.
7. (rail transport, UK) A railway carriage with compartments for two different classes of travel; see Composite Corridor.
   The units are made up as either: … Trailer composite—4 first-class compartments—24 seats; and 3 second-class compartments—24 seats, … A total of 40 vehicles are to be built, Ten of each type of power car, ten trailer composites, five trailer seconds and five trailer second/buffets. 1963 April, “New Inter-City diesel multiple-units for W.R.”, in Modern Railways, page 266
8. (fraternities) a framed photo board composed of many individual photos of fraternity or sorority members

verb

1. To make a composite.
   I composited an image using computer software.