a. [ad. L. compositīv-us, f. composit-: see COMPOSITE and -IVE.]

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  † 1.  Of composite nature or character; in Archit. = COMPOSITE a. 2. Obs.

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1601.  Fulbecke, 1st Pt. Parall., 102. Either a theefe simply, or a theefe compositiue, as a robber by the high way, or a burglarer.

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1687.  Taubman, London’s Tri., 9. The Temple of Janus of the Compositive Order … being a composition of all the five Orders.

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  2.  Involving or using composition or combination; synthetic.

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1652.  Urquhart, Jewel, Wks. (1834), 291. By a compositive method theorematically to infer consequences.

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1857.  T. E. Webb, Intellect. Locke, v. 88. Those Ideas … are … [not] products of the mere compositive Energy of Thought.

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1860.  Abp. Thomson, Laws Th., 28. A picture or statue would be called by some a synthetic, or compositive, sign.

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  Hence Compositively adv., synthetically.

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1633.  T. Adams, Exp. 2 Peter iii. 18. Compositively, as it respects all times and all occasions.

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