The practice of giving away free products, services, or experiences, typically in hospitality contexts; or in jazz, accompanying someone while improvising.
From comp (short for complimentary), which comes from Latin complere (to complete or fulfill). In jazz, 'comping' uses comp as a shortening of 'accompanying,' emerging mid-20th century.
The word 'comping' has at least two completely separate origins in English: one from hospitality (giving free things) and one from jazz (improvised accompaniment). They rarely overlap, which means context matters enormously—the same word means opposite things depending on whether you're in a casino or a nightclub.
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