PART IX
WORD FORMATION CHAPTER ONE COMPOSITION
803. English, like other Germanic languages, has a great many examples of vocablesi which, though felt and used as single words, are made up of two or more elements each of which may also be used as a separate word. Such vocables are called COMPOUNDS. Compounds occur among all parts of speech, with the exception of articles. One example will be given for each, in the order in which they were enumerated in 770: goldsmith, seasick, myself, overcome, somewhere, into, whenever, heigh-ho, twenty-two. Here are some examples of compounds made up of more than two elements: 'son-in-law, 'maid-of-'all-work; ,neverthe'less; 'two and 'twenty. They are chiefly nouns, adverbs or numerals. On so-called String Compounds (type: dead-letter office) see 814. 804. COMPOUND NOUNS mostly consist of two elements, the second of which is usually a noun. As a rule the first element has the main stress and qualifies the second. On the formation of the plural and the genitive (if any) see 228-230, 237 and 238. The first element may be: a. a noun (goldsmith); b. an adjective (blackboard); c. a pronoun (he-goat); d. a verb (drawbridge); e. an adverb (outpost). Of a different type are those mentioned in 229: 'looker-'on, passer-by, runner-up, goings-on, etc., which are derivatives formed on the pattern of the corresponding verb + adverb: look on, pass by, etc. (877). Compound nouns of more than two elements usually consist of a noun with a prepositional adjunct: 'son-in-law, part of speech, maid-of-all-work, or of a first and a last element connected by and: 'Word, esp. w. ref. to form rather than meaning' (COD).
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