composture
nounUK /kəmˈpɒst͡ʃə/ · US /kəmˈpɑst͡ʃɚ/
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French composture (“compost”), from late Old French composture, possibly from Latin compositūra, compostūra (“composition”); equivalent to compost + -ure. Compare Portuguese compostura, Spanish compostura.
1
Obsolete Compost, composted manure.
- The sea's a thief, whose liquid surge resolves The moon into salt tears; the earth's a thief, That feeds and breeds by a composture stolen From general excrement, each thing's a thief.1607, Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act 4 Scene 3:
2
Obsolete Composition, makeup, formation.
3
Obsolete A kind of plaster.