{{Short description|Lexeme (word or sign) that consists of more than one stem}} {{refimprove|date=March 2026}} In linguistics, a '''compound''' is a lexeme (less precisely, a word or sign) that consists of more than one stem. '''Compounding''', '''composition''' or '''nominal composition''' is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes. Compounding occurs when two or more words or signs are joined to make a longer word or sign. Consequently, a compound is a unit composed of more than one stem, forming words or signs. If the joining of the words or signs is orthographically represented with a hyphen, the result is a '''hyphenated compound''' (e.g., ''must-have'', ''hunter-gatherer)''. If they are joined without an intervening space, it is a '''closed compound''' (e.g., ''footpath'', ''blackbird''). If they are joined with a space (e.g. ''school bus, high school, lowest common denominator''), then the result – at least in English<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sanchez-Stockhammer |first=Christina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N09TDwAAQBAJ&q=%22open+compounds%22+%22linguistics%22 |title=English Compounds and their Spelling |date=2018-05-03 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-18727-5 |pages=26 |language=en |quote=English compounds cannot be defined as an uninterrupted sequence of characters}}</ref> – may be an '''open compound'''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Chicago manual of style |date=2017 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-28705-8 |editor-last=University of Chicago press |edition=17th |location=Chicago |pages=443–444 |quote=Compounds defined. An open compound is spelled as two or more words (''high school'', ''lowest common denominoator''). A hyphenated compound is spelled with one or more hyphens (''mass-produced'', ''kilowatt-hour'', ''non-English-speaking''). A closed (or solid) compound is spelled as a single word (''birthrate'', ''smartphone'').}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nagarajan |first=Hemalatha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKWTEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22open+compound%22+%22linguistics%22&pg=PT103 |title=The Routledge Companion to Linguistics in India |date=2022-10-20 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-77574-7 |language=en |quote=The compound can be a closed compound, where the two words are written together (e.g., ''blackboard''), an open compound, where they are written separate (e.g., ''ice cream''), or hyphenated, with a hyphen in between (e.g., ''short-term'').}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=McArthur |first1=Thomas Burns |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QMsWFsI0YkIC&dq=%22open+compounds%22+%22linguistics%22&pg=PT237 |title=Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language |last2=McArthur |first2=Roshan |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280637-6 |pages=237 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open%20compound |title=open compound (noun) |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=29 January 2024 |quote=a compound whose word components are separated by a space in printing or writing}}</ref>
The meaning of the compound may be similar to or different from the meaning of its components in isolation. The component stems of a compound may be of the same part of speech—as in the case of the English word ''footpath'', composed of the two nouns ''foot'' and ''path''—or they may belong to different parts of speech, as in the case of the English word ''blackbird'', composed of the adjective ''black'' and the noun ''bird''. With very few exceptions, English compound words are stressed on their first component stem.
The English language is unusual among Germanic languages in that in English even two-element and other non-nested compounds (''i.e.'', compounds none of whose elements is itself a compound) coined since the 18th century tend to be written in separate parts.{{fact|date=March 2026}} This would be an error in other Germanic languages such as Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, and Dutch. However, this is merely an orthographic convention: as in other Germanic languages, arbitrary noun phrases, for example "girl scout troop", "city council member", and "cellar door", can be made up on the spot and used as compound nouns in English too.{{cn|date=March 2026}} For example, German {{lang|de|Donau­dampfschifffahrts­gesellschafts­kapitän}}{{efn|The word illustrates where compounds can be formed by combining multiple words together to create new, often complex, terms. *Donau - This refers to the Danube River, the second-longest river in Europe, which flows through several countries including Germany and Austria. *Dampf - Means "steam" in German, often used in the context of steamboats or steamships. *Schiffahrt - This translates to "navigation" or "shipping" in English. *Gesellschaft - Means "society" or "company" in German. *Kapitän - Refers to the captain of a ship. *Mütze - This translates to "cap" or "hat" in English. So, "Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze" can be understood as the "Danube steam navigation company captain's cap" in English.}} would be written in English as "Danube steamship transport company captain" and not as "Danube­steamship­transportcompany­captain".
The meaning of compounds may not always be transparent from their components, necessitating familiarity with usage and context. The addition of affix morphemes to words (such as suffixes or prefixes, as in ''employ'' → ''employment'') should not be confused with nominal composition, as this is actually morphological derivation.
Some languages easily form compounds from what in other languages would be a multi-word expression. This can result in unusually long words, a phenomenon known in German (which is one such language) as {{lang|de|Bandwurmwörter}} ("tapeworm words").
Compounding extends beyond spoken languages to include Sign languages as well, where compounds are also created by combining two or more sign stems.
So-called "classical compounds" are compounds derived from classical Latin or ancient Greek roots.
In many languages, including English, Spanish, Latin and German, all numbers greater than twenty that have more than one non-zero digit are written and spoken as compounds.
==Formation of compounds== Compound formation rules vary widely across language types.
In a synthetic language, the relationship between the elements of a compound may be marked with a case or other morpheme. For example, the German compound {{lang|de|Kapitänspatent}} consists of the lexemes {{lang|de|Kapitän}} (sea captain) and {{lang|de|Patent}} (license) joined by an ''-s-'' (originally a genitive case suffix); and similarly, the Latin lexeme {{lang|la|paterfamilias}} contains the archaic genitive form {{lang|la|familias}} of the lexeme {{lang|la|familia}} (family); in the English word ''daisy'', the saxon genitive (equivalent to ''-'s'') was etymologically fossilized from the Old English compound ''dæġe'''s''' ēage'' (literally, "day's eye"). Conversely, in the Hebrew language compound, the word בֵּית סֵפֶר {{lang|he-Latn|bet sefer}} (school), it is the head that is modified: the compound literally means "house-of book", with בַּיִת {{lang|he-Latn|bayit}} (house) having entered the construct state to become בֵּית {{lang|he-Latn|bet}} (house-of). This latter pattern is common throughout the Semitic languages, though in some it is combined with an explicit genitive case, so that both parts of the compound are marked, e.g.
{{interlinear|lang=ar |indent=5|number=Arabic |top={{lang|ar|عبد الله}} |ʕabd-u l-lāh-i |servant-NOM DEF-god-GEN |"servant of-the-god: the servant of God"}}
Agglutinative languages tend to create very long words with derivational morphemes. Compounds may or may not require the use of derivational morphemes also.
In German, extremely extendable compound words can be found in many different domains. In the language of chemistry, for example, compounds can be practically unlimited in length, mostly because the German rule suggests combining all noun adjuncts with the noun as the last stem. German examples include {{lang|de|Farb­fernsehgerät}} (color television set), {{lang|de|Funk­fernbedienung}} (radio remote control), and the often quoted jocular word {{lang|de|Donau­dampfschifffahrts­gesellschafts­kapitänsmütze}} (originally only two Fs, Danube-Steamboat-Shipping Company captain['s] hat), which can of course be made even longer and even more absurd, e.g. ''Donau­dampfschifffahrts­gesellschafts­kapitänsmützen­reinigungs­ausschreibungs­verordnungs­diskussionsanfang'' ("beginning of the discussion of a regulation on tendering of Danube steamboat shipping company captain hats") etc. According to several editions of the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest published German word has 79 letters and is'' Donau­dampfschiffahrts­elektrizitäten­hauptbetriebswerkbau­unterbeamten­gesellschaft ''("Association for Subordinate Officials of the Main Electric[ity] Maintenance Building of the Danube Steam Shipping"), but there is no evidence that this association ever actually existed.
In Finnish, although there is theoretically no limit to the length of compound words, words consisting of more than three components are rare. Internet folklore sometimes suggests that {{lang|fi|lentokone­suihkuturbiinimoottori­apumekaanikko­aliupseerioppilas}} (airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student) is the longest word in Finnish, but evidence of its actual use is scant and anecdotal at best.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.finnsnw.org/etc.html|title = Seattle FinnFest '09}}</ref>
Compounds can be rather long when translating technical documents from English to some other language, since the lengths of the words are theoretically unlimited, especially in chemical terminology. For example, when translating an English technical document to Swedish, the term "Motion estimation search range settings" can be directly translated to {{lang|sv|rörelse­uppskattnings­sökintervalls­inställningar}}, though in reality, the word would most likely be divided in two: {{lang|sv|sökintervalls­inställningar för rörelse­uppskattning}} – "search range settings for motion estimation".
==Subclasses==
===Semantic classification===
A common semantic classification of compounds yields four types:
*endocentric *exocentric *copulative *appositional
'''An endocentric compound''' (''tatpuruṣa'' in the Sanskrit tradition) consists of a ''head'', i.e. the categorical part that contains the basic meaning of the whole compound, and modifiers, which restrict this meaning. The compound word is a hyponym of the head. For example, the English compound ''doghouse'', where ''house'' is the head and ''dog'' is the modifier, is understood as a house intended for a dog. Endocentric compounds tend to be of the same part of speech (word class) as their head, as in the case of ''doghouse''.
An '''exocentric compound''' (''bahuvrihi'' in the Sanskrit tradition) is a compound where the semantic category (e.g. person, plant, or animal) is not stated. Neither of its components is a head, and its meaning often cannot be transparently guessed from its constituent parts. For example, the English compound ''white-collar'' is neither a kind of collar nor a white thing. In an exocentric compound, the word class is determined lexically, disregarding the class of the constituents. For example, a ''must-have'' is not a verb but a noun. The meaning of this type of compound can be glossed as "(one) whose B is A", where B is the second element of the compound and A the first. Other English examples include ''barefoot''.
'''Copulative compounds''' (''dvandva'' in the Sanskrit tradition) are compounds with two semantic heads. These are commonly used to describe points on a gradual scale, such as ''yellow-green''.
'''Appositional compounds''' are lexemes that have two (contrary or simultaneous) attributes that classify the compound.
{| class="wikitable" |- ! Type ! Description ! Examples |- | '''endocentric''' | A+B denotes a special kind of B |''darkroom'', ''smalltalk'' |- | '''exocentric''' | A+B denotes a special kind of an unexpressed different semantic meaning C |''redhead'', ''scarecrow'' |- | '''copulative''' | A+B denotes 'the sum' of what A and B denote |''bittersweet'', ''sleepwalk'' |- | '''appositional''' | A and B provide different descriptions for the same referent |''hunter-gatherer'', ''maidservant'' |}
===Syntactic classification===
====Noun–noun compounds==== All natural languages have compound nouns. The positioning of the words (i.e. the most common order of constituents in phrases where nouns are modified by adjectives, by possessors, by other nouns, etc.) varies according to the language. While Germanic languages, for example, are left-branching when it comes to noun phrases (the modifiers come before the head), the Romance languages are usually right-branching.
English compound nouns can be spaced, hyphenated, or solid, and they sometimes change orthographically in that direction over time, reflecting a semantic identity that evolves from a mere collocation to something stronger in its solidification. This theme has been summarized in usage guides under the aphorism that "compound nouns tend to solidify as they age"; thus a compound noun such as ''place name'' begins as spaced in most attestations and then becomes hyphenated as ''place-name'' and eventually solid as ''placename'', or the spaced compound noun ''file name'' directly becomes solid as ''filename'' without being hyphenated. {| class="wikitable" |+Types of English compound nouns !Type !Description !Examples |- |Spaced (or open) |The words are not visibly connected in writing. |''place name'', ''ice cream'' |- |Hyphenated |A hyphen is used to join the words. |''place-name'', ''hunter-gatherer'' |- |Solid (or closed) |When written, there is no space or intervening punctuation. |''placename'', ''scarecrow'' |} German, a fellow West Germanic language, has a somewhat different orthography, whereby compound nouns are virtually always required to be solid or at least hyphenated; even the hyphenated styling is used less now than it was in centuries past.
In French, compound nouns are often formed by left-hand heads with prepositional components inserted before the modifier, as in ''chemin-de-fer'' 'railway', lit. 'road of iron', and ''moulin à vent'' 'windmill', lit. 'mill (that works)-by-means-of wind'.
In Turkish, one way of forming compound nouns is as follows: ''yeldeğirmeni'' 'windmill' (''yel'': wind, ''değirmen-i'': mill-possessive); ''demiryolu'' 'railway' (''demir'': iron, ''yol-u'': road-possessive).
Occasionally, two synonymous nouns can form a compound noun, resulting in a pleonasm. One example is the English word ''pathway''.
In Arabic, there are two distinct criteria unique to Arabic, or potentially Semitic languages in general. The initial criterion involves whether the possessive marker li-/la ‘for/of’ appears or is absent when the first element is definite. The second criterion deals with the appearance/absence of the possessive marker li-/la ‘for/of’ when the first element is preceded by a cardinal number.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Altakhaineh |first=Abdel Rahman Mitib |date=2018-02-27 |title=Identifying N+N compounding in Modern Standard Arabic and Jordanian Arabic |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/stul.12087 |journal=Studia Linguistica |language=en |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=1–36 |doi=10.1111/stul.12087 |issn=0039-3193|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
====Verb–noun compounds==== A type of compound that is fairly common in Indo-European languages is formed by a verb and its object. It in effect transforms a simple verbal clause into a noun. In Spanish, for example, such compounds consist of a verb conjugated for the second person singular imperative followed by a noun (singular or plural): e.g., ''rascacielos'' (modelled on "skyscraper", lit. 'scratch skies'), ''sacacorchos'' 'corkscrew' (lit. 'pull corks'), ''guardarropa'' 'wardrobe' (lit. 'store clothes'). These compounds are formally invariable in the plural (but in many cases they have been reanalyzed as plural forms, and a singular form has appeared). French and Italian have these same compounds with the noun in the singular form: Italian ''grattacielo'' 'skyscraper', French ''grille-pain'' 'toaster' (lit. 'toast bread').
This construction exists in English, generally with the verb and noun both in uninflected form: examples are ''spoilsport'', ''killjoy'', ''breakfast'', ''cutthroat'', ''pickpocket'', ''dreadnought'', and ''know-nothing''.
A special kind of compounding is incorporation, of which noun incorporation into a verbal root (as in English ''backstabbing'', ''breastfeed'', etc.) is most prevalent. An argument of the verb is incorporated into the verb, which is then usually turned into a gerund, such as ''breastfeeding'', ''finger-pointing'', etc. The noun is often an instrumental complement. From these gerunds new verbs can be made: ''(a mother) breastfeeds (a child)'' and from them new compounds ''mother-child breastfeeding'', etc.
In the Australian Aboriginal language Jingulu, a Pama–Nyungan language, it is claimed that all verbs are V+N compounds, such as "do a sleep", or "run a dive", and the language has only three basic verbs: ''do'', ''make'', and ''run''.<ref>R. Pensalfini, ''Jingulu Grammar, Dictionary and Texts'', PhD thesis (MIT, 1992), 138–9.[https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Linguistics/Mega%20linguistics%20pack/Australian/Jingulu%20Grammar%2C%20Dictionary%2C%20and%20Texts%20%28Pensalfini%29.pdf]</ref>
====Verb–verb compounds==== {{Main|Compound verb}} Verb–verb compounds are sequences of more than one verb acting together to determine clause structure. They have two types:
*In a '''serial verb''', two actions, often sequential, are expressed in a single clause. For example: {{interlinear | lang = ee | indent = 5 | number = Ewe|trɔ dzo|turn leave|"turn and leave" }} {{fs interlinear|lang=hi|indent=5|number=Hindi|जाकर देखो|jā-kar dekh-o|go-{{gcl|CONJ|conjunctive}}.PTCP see-IMP|"go and see"}}
{{Interlinear|van̪t̪u paːr|1 2|"come see" | lang = tam | number = Tamil | indent = 5 }}
In each case, the two verbs together determine the semantics and argument structure.
Serial verb expressions in English may include ''What did you go and do that for?'', or ''He just upped and left''; this is however not quite a true compound since they are connected by a conjunction and the second missing arguments may be taken as a case of ellipsis.
*In a '''compound verb''' (or ''complex predicate''), one of the verbs is the primary, and determines the primary semantics and also the argument structure. The secondary verb, often called a vector verb or explicator, provides fine distinctions, usually in temporality or aspect, and also carries the inflection (tense and/or agreement markers). The main verb usually appears in conjunctive participial (sometimes ''zero'') form. For examples, Hindi {{lang|hi|निकल गया}} ''nikal gayā'', lit. "exit went", means 'went out', while निकल पड़ा ''nikal paRā'', lit. "exit fell", means 'departed' or 'was blurted out'. In these examples निकल ''nikal'' is the primary verb, and गया ''gayā'' and पड़ा ''paRā'' are the vector verbs. Similarly, in both English ''start reading'' and Japanese 読み始める ''yomihajimeru'' "read-<small>CONJUNCTIVE</small>-start" "start reading", the vector verbs ''start'' and 始める ''hajimeru'' "start" change according to tense, negation, and the like, while the main verbs ''reading'' and 読み ''yomi'' "reading" usually remain the same. An exception to this is the passive voice, in which both English and Japanese modify the main verb, i.e. ''start to be read'' and 読まれ始める ''yomarehajimeru'' lit. "read-<small>PASSIVE-(CONJUNCTIVE)</small>-start" ''start to be read''. With a few exceptions, all compound verbs alternate with their simple counterparts. That is, removing the vector does not affect grammaticality at all nor the meaning very much: निकला ''nikalā'' '(He) went out.' In a few languages both components of the compound verb can be finite forms: Kurukh ''kecc-ar ker-ar'' lit. "died-3pl went-3pl" '(They) died.' *Compound verbs are very common in some languages, such as the northern Indo-Aryan languages Hindustani and Punjabi, and Dravidian languages like Tamil, where as many as 20% of verb forms in running text are compound. They exist but are less common in other Indo-Aryan languages like Marathi and Nepali, in Tibeto-Burman languages like Limbu and Newari, in Turkic languages like Turkish and Kyrgyz, in Korean and Japanese, and in northeast Caucasian languages like Tsez and Avar. *Under the influence of a Quichua substrate speakers living in the Ecuadorian altiplano have innovated compound verbs in Spanish: {{interlinear | indent = 3|De rabia '''puso''' '''rompiendo''' la olla|from anger '''put''' '''breaking''' the pot|'In anger (he/she) smashed the pot.' }} :'' '''Botaremos matándo'''te'' 'We will kill you.' (Cf. Quichua {{interlinear | indent = 3|huañuchi-shpa shitashun|kill-CP throw.1PL.FUT| }} :Likewise in Hindi: {{fs interlinear|indent=3|तेरे को मार डालेंगे|tere ko mār DāleNge|we will kill-throw you|}}
*Compound verb equivalents in English (examples from the internet): :''What did you '''go and do''' that for?'' :''If you are not giving away free information on your web site then a huge proportion of your business is just '''upping and leaving'''.'' :''Big Pig, she '''took and built''' herself a house out of brush.'' *Caution: In descriptions of Persian and other Iranian languages the term 'compound verb' refers to noun-plus-verb compounds, not to the verb–verb compounds discussed here.
====Parasynthetic compounds==== Parasynthetic compounds are formed by a combination of compounding and derivation, with multiple lexical stems and a derivational affix. For example, English ''black-eyed'' is composed of ''black'', ''eye'', and ''-ed'' 'having', with the meaning 'having a black eye';<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', Third Edition, June 2005 [https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/137666 ''s.v.'']</ref> Italian ''imbustare'' is composed of ''in-'' 'in', ''busta'' 'envelope', ''-are'' (verbal suffix), with the meaning 'to put into an envelope'.<ref>Chiara Melloni, Antonietta Bisetto, "Parasynthetic compounds: data and theory", in Sergio Scalies, Irene Vogel, eds., ''Cross-Disciplinary Issues in Compounding'', {{isbn|9789027248275}}, 2010, p. 199-218</ref>
====Compound adpositions==== Compound prepositions formed by prepositions and nouns are common in English and the Romance languages (consider English ''on top of'', Spanish ''encima de'', etc.). Hindi has a small number of simple (i.e., one-word) postpositions and a large number of compound postpositions, mostly consisting of simple postposition ''ke'' followed by a specific postposition (e.g., ''ke pas'', "near"; ''ke nīche'', "underneath").
==Examples from different languages== Arabic: *{{lang|ar|معلمو الفيزياء}} ''muʕallim-uu l-fiizyaaʔ'' 'the physics teachers': {{lang|ar|معلمو}} ''muʕallim-uu'' 'teachers' + {{lang|ar|الفيزياء}} ''fiizyaaʔ'' 'physics' *{{lang|ar|إبرة المخدر}} ''ʔibrat l-muxaddir'' 'the anaesthesia needle': {{lang|ar|إبرة}} ''ʔibrat'' 'needle' + {{lang|ar|مخدر}} ''muxaddir'' 'anaesthesia'
Bengali: *{{lang|bn|রাজপুত্র}} ''rajputro'' 'prince': {{lang|bn|রাজা}} ''raja'' 'king' + {{lang|bn|পুত্র}} ''putro'' 'son' *{{lang|bn|গৃহকর্তা}} ''grihokοrta'' 'householder': {{lang|bn|গৃহ}} ''griho'' 'house' + {{lang|bn|কর্তা}} ''korta'' 'master' *{{lang|bn|বিদ্যালয়}} ''bidyaloy'' 'school': {{lang|bn|বিদ্যা}} ''bidya'' 'knowledge' + {{lang|bn|আলয়}} ''aloy'' 'abode'
Chinese (traditional/simplified Chinese; Standard Chinese Pinyin/Cantonese Jyutping): *學生/学生 'student': 學 ''xué''/''hok6'' learn + 生 ''shēng''/''sang1'' living being *太空/太空 'space': 太 ''tài''/''taai3'' great + 空 ''kōng''/''hung1'' emptiness *摩天樓/摩天楼 'skyscraper': 摩 ''mó''/''mo1'' touch + 天 ''tiān''/''tin1'' sky + 樓 ''lóu''/''lau2'' building (with more than 1 storey) *打印機/打印机 'printer': 打 ''dǎ''/''daa2'' strike + 印 ''yìn''/''yan3'' stamp/print + 機 ''jī''/''gei1'' machine *百科全書/百科全书 'encyclopaedia': 百 ''bǎi''/''baak3'' hundred + 科 ''kē''/''fo1'' (branch of) study + 全 ''quán''/''cyun4'' entire/complete + 書 ''shū''/''syu1'' book *謝謝/谢谢 'thanks': Repeating of 謝 ''xiè'' thank
Dutch: *{{lang|nl|arbeids­ongeschiktheids­verzekering}} 'disability insurance': {{lang|nl|arbeid}} 'labour' + {{lang|nl|ongeschiktheid}} 'inaptitude' + {{lang|nl|verzekering}} 'insurance'. *{{lang|nl|rioolwater­zuiverings­installatie}} 'sewage treatment plant': {{lang|nl|riool}} 'sewer' + ''water'' 'water' + {{lang|nl|zuivering}} 'cleaning' + {{lang|nl|installatie}} 'installation'. *{{lang|nl|verjaardags­kalender}} 'birthday calendar': {{lang|nl|verjaardag}} 'birthday' + {{lang|nl|kalender}} 'calendar'. *{{lang|nl|klantenservice­medewerker}} 'customer service representative': {{lang|nl|klanten}} 'customers' + {{lang|nl|service}} 'service' + {{lang|nl|medewerker}} 'worker'. *{{lang|nl|universiteits­bibliotheek}} 'university library': {{lang|nl|universiteit}} 'university' + {{lang|nl|bibliotheek}} 'library'. *{{lang|nl|doorgroei­mogelijkheden}} 'possibilities for advancement': {{lang|nl|door}} 'through' + {{lang|nl|groei}} 'grow' + {{lang|nl|mogelijkheden}} 'possibilities'.
Finnish: *{{lang|fi|sanakirja}} 'dictionary': {{lang|fi|sana}} 'word' + {{lang|fi|kirja}} 'book' *{{lang|fi|tietokone}} 'computer': {{lang|fi|tieto}} 'knowledge data' + {{lang|fi|kone}} 'machine' *{{lang|fi|keskiviikko}} 'Wednesday': {{lang|fi|keski}} 'middle' + {{lang|fi|viikko}} 'week' *{{lang|fi|maailma}} 'world': {{lang|fi|maa}} 'land' + {{lang|fi|ilma}} 'air' *{{lang|fi|rautatieasema}} 'railway station': {{lang|fi|rauta}} 'iron' + {{lang|fi|tie}} 'road' + {{lang|fi|asema}} 'station' *{{lang|fi|kolmivaihe­kilowattitunti­mittari}} 'electricity meter': 'three-phase kilowatt hour meter'
thumb|Sewage-treatment-facility – The German language has many compounds. German: *{{lang|de|Wolkenkratzer}} 'skyscraper': {{lang|de|Wolken}} 'clouds' + {{lang|de|Kratzer}} 'scraper' *{{lang|de|Eisenbahn}} 'railway': {{lang|de|Eisen}} 'iron' + {{lang|de|Bahn}} 'track' *{{lang|de|Kraftfahrzeug}} 'automobile': {{lang|de|Kraft}} 'power' + {{lang|de|fahren/fahr}} 'drive' + {{lang|de|Zeug}} 'machinery' *{{lang|de|Stacheldraht}} 'barbed wire': {{lang|de|Stachel}} 'barb/barbed' + {{lang|de|Draht}} 'wire' *{{lang|de|Rinder­kennzeichnungs- und Rindfleisch­etikettierungs­überwachungs­aufgaben­übertragungs­gesetz}}: literally cattle-marking- and beef-labeling-supervision-duties-delegation law
Ancient Greek: *{{lang|grc|φιλόσοφος}} ''philósophos'' 'philosopher': φίλος ''phílos'' 'beloved' + σοφία ''sophíā'' 'wisdom' *{{lang|grc|δημοκρατία}} ''dēmokratíā'' 'democracy': δῆμος ''dêmos'' 'people' + κράτος 'rule' *{{lang|grc|ῥοδοδάκτυλος}} ''rhododáktylos'' 'rose-fingered': ῥόδον ''rhódon'' 'rose' + δάκτυλος ''dáktylos'' 'finger' (a Homeric epithet applied to the Dawn)
Hindi: *{{lang|hi|राजपुत्र}} ''raajputra'' 'prince': {{lang|hi|राजा}} ''raaja'' 'king' + {{lang|hi|पुत्र}} ''putra'' 'son' *{{lang|hi|विद्यालय}} ''vidyaalay'' 'school': {{lang|hi|विद्या}} ''vidyaa'' 'knowledge' + {{lang|hi|आलय}} ''aalay'' 'abode' *{{lang|hi|देशभक्त}} ''deshbhakt'' 'patriot': {{lang|hi|देश}} ''desh'' 'country' + {{lang|hi|भक्त}} ''bhakt'' 'devotee'
Icelandic: *{{lang|is|járnbraut}} 'railway': {{lang|is|járn}} 'iron' + {{lang|is|braut}} 'path' or 'way' *{{lang|is|farartæki}} 'vehicle': ''farar'' 'journey' + ''tæki'' 'apparatus' *{{lang|is|alfræðiorðabók}} 'encyclopedia': {{lang|is|al}} 'everything' + {{lang|is|fræði}} 'study' or 'knowledge' + {{lang|is|orðabók}} 'dictionary' ({{lang|is|orða}} 'words' + {{lang|is|bók}} 'book') *{{lang|is|símtal}} 'telephone conversation': ''sím'' 'telephone' + ''tal'' 'dialogue'
Italian: *{{lang|it|millepiedi}} 'millipede': {{lang|it|mille}} 'thousand' + {{lang|it|piedi}} 'feet' *{{lang|it|ferrovia}} 'railway': {{lang|it|ferro}} 'iron' + {{lang|it|via}} 'way' *{{lang|it|tergicristallo}} 'windscreen wiper': {{lang|it|tergere}} 'to wash' + {{lang|it|cristallo}} 'crystal (pane of) glass' *pomodoro: pomo d'oro = apple of Gold = tomatoes *portacenere = porta cenere = ashtray
Japanese: *目覚まし（時計） {{Transliteration|ja|mezamashi(dokei)}} 'alarm clock': 目 ''me'' 'eye' + 覚まし ''samashi (-zamashi)'' 'awakening (someone)' (+ 時計 ''tokei (-dokei)'' clock) *お好み焼き ''okonomiyaki'': お好み ''okonomi'' 'preference' + 焼き ''yaki'' 'cooking' *日帰り ''higaeri'' 'day trip': 日 ''hi'' 'day' + 帰り ''kaeri (-gaeri)'' 'returning (home)' *国会議事堂 {{Transliteration|ja|kokkaigijidō}} 'national diet building': 国会 ''kokkai'' 'national diet' + 議事 {{Transliteration|ja|giji}} 'proceedings' + 堂 ''dō'' 'hall'
Korean: *안팎 ''anpak'' 'inside and outside': 안 ''an'' 'inside' + 밖 ''bak'' 'outside' (As two nouns compound the consonant sound 'b' fortifies into 'p' becoming 안팎 ''anpak'' rather than 안밖 {{Transliteration|ko|anbak}})
Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin: *''mashkikiwaaboo'' 'tonic': ''mashkiki'' 'medicine' + ''waaboo'' 'liquid' *''miskomin'' 'raspberry': ''misko'' 'red' + ''miin'' 'berry' *''dibik-giizis'' 'moon': ''dibik'' 'night' + ''giizis'' 'sun' *''gichi-mookomaan'' 'white person/American': ''gichi'' 'big' + ''mookomaan'' 'knife'
Spanish: *{{lang|es|ciencia-ficción}} 'science fiction': {{lang|es|ciencia}}, 'science', + {{lang|es|ficción}}, 'fiction' (This word is a calque from the English expression ''science fiction''. In English, the head of a compound word is the last morpheme: science ''fiction''. Conversely, the Spanish head is located at the front, so ''ciencia ficción'' sounds like a kind of fictional science rather than scientific fiction.) *{{lang|es|ciempiés}} 'centipede': {{lang|es|cien}} 'hundred' + {{lang|es|pies}} 'feet' *{{lang|es|ferrocarril}} 'railway': {{lang|es|ferro}} 'iron' + {{lang|es|carril}} 'lane' *{{lang|es|paraguas}} 'umbrella': {{lang|es|para}} 'stops' + {{lang|es|aguas}} '(the) water' *{{lang|es|cabizbajo}} 'keeping the head low in a bad mood': ''cabeza'' 'head' + ''bajo'' 'down' *{{lang|es|subibaja}} 'seesaw' (contraction of {{lang|es|sube y baja}} 'goes up and down') *{{lang|es|limpiaparabrisas}} 'windshield wiper' is a nested compound:<ref name="Diccionario De La Lengua Española">{{cite web|title=Diccionario De La Lengua Española : limpiaparabrisas|url=http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=limpiaparabrisas|publisher=Real Academia Española|access-date=16 February 2013}}</ref> {{lang|es|limpia}} 'clean' + {{lang|es|parabrisas}} ''windshield'', which is itself a compound of {{lang|es|para}} 'stop' + {{lang|es|brisas}} 'breezes'.
Tamil: * In ''Cemmozhi'' (Classical Tamil), rules for compounding are laid down in grammars such as Tolkappiyam and Nannūl, in various forms, under the name ''punarcci''. Examples of compounds include {{lang|ta-Latn|kopuram}} from 'kō' (king) + 'puram' (exterior). Sometimes phonemes may be inserted during the blending process such as in kovil from 'kō' (king) + 'il' (home). Other types are like ''vennai'' (butter) from 'veḷḷai' (white) + 'nei' (ghee); note how 'veḷḷai' becomes 'ven'. * In ''koṭuntamizh'' (Non-standard Tamil), parts of words from other languages may be morphed into Tamil. Common examples include 'ratta-azhuttam' (blood pressure) from the Sanskrit ''rakta'' (blood) and ''Cemmozhi'' 'azhuttam' (pressure); note how ''rakta'' becomes ''ratta'' in Tamil order to remove the consonant-cluster. This also happens with English, for examples ''kāpi-kaṭai'' (coffee shop) is from English ''coffee'', which becomes ''kāpi'' in Tamil, and the Tamil ''kaṭai'' meaning shop.
Tłįchǫ Yatiì/Dogrib: *''dlòotsǫ̀ǫ̀'' 'peanut butter': ''dlòo'' 'squirrel' + ''tsǫ̀ǫ̀'' 'dung' *''eyakǫ̀'' 'hospital': ''eya'' 'sick' + ''kǫ̀'' 'house' *''dè gotłeè'' 'kerosene': ''dè'' 'land' + ''gotłeè'' 'its fat' *''dǫ łèt'è'' 'bannock': ''dǫ'' '[Aboriginal] people' + ''łèt'è'' 'bread'
===Russian language=== In the Russian language compounding is a common type of word formation, and several types of compounds exist, both in terms of compounded parts of speech and of the way of the formation of a compound.<ref>''Student Dictionary of Compound Words of the Russian Language''(1978) {{ISBN|0-8285-5190-1}}</ref>
Compound nouns may be agglutinative compounds, hyphenated compounds (стол-книга 'folding table', lit. 'table-book', "book-like table"), or abbreviated compounds (acronyms: колхоз 'kolkhoz'). Some compounds look like acronym, while in fact they are an agglutinations of type stem + word: Академгородок 'Akademgorodok' (from ''akademichesky gorodok'' 'academic village'). In agglutinative compound nouns, an agglutinating infix is typically used: пароход 'steamship': пар + о + ход. Compound nouns may be created as noun+noun, adjective + noun, noun + adjective (rare), noun + verb (or, rather, noun + verbal noun).
Compound adjectives may be formed either per se (бело-розовый 'white-pink') or as a result of compounding during the derivation of an adjective from a multi-word term: Каменноостровский проспект ({{IPA|[kəmʲɪnnʌʌˈstrovskʲɪj prʌˈspʲɛkt]}}) 'Stone Island Avenue', a street in St.Petersburg.
Reduplication in Russian is also a source of compounds.
===Sanskrit language=== {{Main|Sanskrit compounds}}
Sanskrit is very rich in compound formation with seven major compound types and as many as 55 sub-types.<ref name="scl">{{cite conference | last=Kumar | first=Anil |author2=Mittal, Vipul |author3=Kulkarni, Amba | editor=Jha, Girish Nath| book-title=Sanskrit Computational Linguistics: 4th International Symposium, New Delhi, India, December 10–12, 2010: Proceedings (Volume 6465 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science / Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence Series) | title=Sanskrit Compound Processor | year=2010 | publisher=Springer | isbn=978-3-642-17527-5 | pages=57–69}}</ref> The compound formation process is productive, so it is not possible to list all Sanskrit compounds in a dictionary. Compounds of two or three words are more frequent, but longer compounds with some ''running through pages'' are not rare in Sanskrit literature.<ref name="scl"/> Some examples are below (hyphens below show individual word boundaries for ease of reading but are not required in original Sanskrit). *हिमालय (IAST Himālaya, decomposed as hima-ālaya): Name of the Himalaya mountain range. Literally ''the abode of snow''.<ref>{{OEtymD|Himalaya|accessdate=2011-07-17}}</ref> A compound of two words and four syllables. *प्रवर-मुकुट-मणि-मरीचि-मञ्जरी-चय-चर्चित-चरण-युगल (IAST pravara-mukuṭa-maṇi-marīci-mañjarī-caya-carcita-caraṇa-yugala): Literally, ''O the one whose dual feet are covered by the cluster of brilliant rays from the gems of the best crowns'', from the Sanskrit work Panchatantra.<ref name="scl"/> A compound of nine words and 25 syllables. *कमला-कुच-कुङ्कुम-पिञ्जरीकृत-वक्षः-स्थल-विराजित-महा-कौस्तुभ-मणि-मरीचि-माला-निराकृत-त्रि-भुवन-तिमिर (IAST kamalā-kuca-kuṅkuma-piñjarīkṛta-vakṣaḥ-sthala-virājita-mahā-kaustubha-maṇi-marīci-mālā-nirākṛta-tri-bhuvana-timira): Literally ''O the one who dispels the darkness of three worlds by the shine of Kaustubha jewel hanging on the chest, which has been made reddish-yellow by the saffron from the bosom of Kamalā (Lakshmi)'', an adjective of Rama in the Kakabhushundi Rāmāyaṇa.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kumar | first=Animesh | title=Sruti Krta Rama Stuti | date =May 23, 2007 | url = http://www.stutimandal.com/new/poemgen.php?id=209 | access-date = July 1, 2011 | publisher=Stutimandal.com}}</ref> A compound of 16 words and 44 syllables. *साङ्ख्य-योग-न्याय-वैशेषिक-पूर्व-मीमांसा-वेदान्त-नारद-शाण्डिल्य-भक्ति-सूत्र-गीता-वाल्मीकीय-रामायण-भागवतादि-सिद्धान्त-बोध-पुरः-सर-समधिकृताशेष-तुलसी-दास-साहित्य-सौहित्य-स्वाध्याय-प्रवचन-व्याख्यान-परम-प्रवीणाः (IAST sāṅkhya-yoga-nyāya-vaiśeṣika-pūrva-mīmāṃsā-vedānta-nārada-śāṇḍilya-bhakti-sūtra-gītā-vālmīkīya-rāmāyaṇa-bhāgavatādi-siddhānta-bodha-puraḥ-sara-samadhikṛtāśeṣa-tulasī-dāsa-sāhitya-sauhitya-svādhyāya-pravacana-vyākhyāna-parama-pravīṇāḥ): Literally ''the acclaimed forerunner in understanding of the canons of Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Pūrva Mīmāṃsā, Vedānta, Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, Śāṇḍilya Bhakti Sūtra, Bhagavad Gītā, the Ramayana of Vālmīki, Śrīmadbhāgavata; and the most skilled in comprehensive self-study, discoursing and expounding of the complete works of Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsa''.<ref name="jr-virud">{{cite web | title = Virudavali – Jagadguru Rambhadracharya | url = http://jagadgururambhadracharya.org/virudavali.php | access-date = October 25, 2011 | publisher=Shri Tulsi Peeth Seva Nyas}}</ref> An adjective used in a panegyric of Jagadguru Rambhadracharya. The hyphens show only those word boundaries where there is no sandhi. On including word boundaries with sandhi (vedānta=veda-anta, rāmāyaṇa=rāma-ayana, bhāgavatādi=bhāgavata-ādi, siddhānta=siddha-anta, samadhikṛtāśeṣa=samadhikṛta-aśeṣa, svādhyāya=sva-adhyāya), this is a compound of 35 words and 86 syllables.
=== Sign languages === Also in sign languages, compounding is a productive word formation process. Both endocentric and exocentric compounds have been described for a variety of sign languages.<ref name="Part 4: Morphology">{{Cite book|chapter=Part 4: Morphology|date=2017-11-20|chapter-url=http://www.degruyter.com/view/books/9781501511806/9781501511806-009/9781501511806-009.xml|pages=163–270|editor-last=Quer|editor-first=Josep|publisher=De Gruyter|doi=10.1515/9781501511806-009|isbn=9781501511806|access-date=2019-02-19|editor2-last=Cecchetto|editor2-first=Carlo|editor3-last=Donati|editor3-first=Caterina|editor4-last=Geraci|editor4-first=Carlo|title=Sign ''Gram'' Blueprint}}</ref> Copulative compounds or dvandva, which are composed of two or more nouns from the same semantic category to denote that semantic category, also occur regularly in many sign languages. The [https://media.spreadthesign.com/video/mp4/17/198419.mp4 sign] for ''parents'' in Italian Sign Language, for instance, is a combination of the nouns 'father' and 'mother'. The sign for ''breakfast'' in American Sign Language follows the same concept. The words ''eat'' and ''morning'' are signed together to create a new word meaning breakfast.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} This is an example of a sequential compound; in sign languages, it is also possible to form ''simultaneous'' compounds, where one hand represents one lexeme while the other simultaneously represents another lexeme. An example is the sign for ''weekend'' in Sign Language of the Netherlands, which is produced by simultaneously signing a one-handed version of the sign for ''Saturday'' and a one-handed version of the sign for ''Sunday.''<ref name="Part 4: Morphology"/> In American Sign Language there is another process easily compared to compounding. Blending is the blending of two morphemes to create a new word called a portmanteau.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Word formation: compounding and blending in sign language |url=https://www.handspeak.com/learn/index.php?id=91 |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=www.handspeak.com}}</ref> This is different from compounding in that it breaks the strict linear order of compounding.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hill |first=Joseph C. |date=2017 |title=Deaf Culture: Exploring Deaf Communities in the United States by Irene W. Leigh, Jean F. Andrews, and Raychelle L. Harris |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sls.2017.0025 |journal=Sign Language Studies |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=162–165 |doi=10.1353/sls.2017.0025 |s2cid=148714617 |issn=1533-6263|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Compounding by language== *Classical compounds *English compounds *German compounds *Sanskrit compounds *Arabic compound
==See also== * Compound modifier * Bracketing paradox * Etymological calque * Genitive connector * Incorporation (linguistics) * Kenning * Multiword expression * Neologism * Noun adjunct * Phono-semantic matching * Portmanteau compounds * Status constructus * Syllabic abbreviation * Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein, South African placename * Word formation * Univerbation: a phrase becomes a word
== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
=== Sources === *Kortmann, Bernd: ''English Linguistics: Essentials'', Cornelsen, Berlin 2005. * ''The Oxford Handbook of Compounding'', eds. Lieber, Rochelle & Pavol Štekauer, 2009. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Plag, Ingo: ''Word-formation in English'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. *Scalise Sergio & Irene Vogel (eds.) (2010), ''Cross-Disciplinary Issues in Compounding'', Amsterdam, Benjamins.
== External links == {{Wiktionary|compound word}} * {{Cite web |title=COMPOUND WORD {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/compound-word |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}} * [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367670_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_the_languages_of_Europe Compounds and multi-word expressions in the languages of Europe] by Rita Finkbeiner and Barbara Schlücker, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367839_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_English_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in English] by Laurie Bauer, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367674_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Finnish_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in Finnish] by Irma Hyvärinen, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329885493_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_French Compounds and multi-word expressions in French] by Kristel Van Goethem, 2018 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367826_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_German Compounds and multi-word expressions in German] by Barbara Schlücker, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367581_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Greek_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in Greek] by Maria Koliopoulou, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367844_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Hungarian_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in Hungarian] by Ferenc Kiefer, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367735_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Italian_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in Italian] by Francesca Masini, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367590_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Polish_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in Polish] by Bozena Cetnarowska, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367852_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Russian_Compounds_and_Multi-Word_Expressions Compounds and multi-word expressions in Russian] by Ingeborg Ohnheiser, 2019 ** [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330367739_Compounds_and_multi-word_expressions_in_Spanish Compounds and multi-word expressions in Spanish] by Jesús Fernández-Domínguez, 2019
{{Natural Language Processing}}
Category:Syntax Category:Word coinage Category:Linguistic morphology