Questions tagged [compound-words]
The compound-words tag has no usage guidance.
43
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word, noun, and compound noun
A noun is defined in Oxford as:
A word (other than a pronoun) used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things (common noun), or to name a particular one of these (proper noun).
A ...
2
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2answers
107 views
How is 'compound noun' defined in CGEL?
This question is specifically about The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston and Pullum.
Here's CGEL's definition of word:
In order to avoid possible misunderstanding we will ...
1
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1answer
77 views
General way to describe words like “understand”, based on archaic senses of their component parts
The word "understand" is fascinating. A surface parse of the word gives little insight into how the components are related to the concept associated with the word. In contrast, with words like "...
1
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0answers
46 views
Is there a term for words like 'frenemy'?
I read the word 'frenemy' for the first time in a BBC news item which described the current relationship of President Trump and Kim Jong-Un as 'frenemies'.
A person with whom one is friendly, ...
1
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1answer
49 views
Word request: what's a startup-like synonym for the word “grapevine”
Single word request: Grapevine is a word used to describe the spread of rumors via spoken communication. Can you think of a similar 2-syllable, startup-like synonym for grapevine?
I've tried a ...
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0answers
60 views
What is the difference between “ renewal ” and “ resumption ”?
Cambridge English Dictionary explains these as
renewal : a situation in which something begins again after having stopped for a period of time e.g. Pharmaceutical shares also benefited from the ...
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0answers
28 views
Using the word 'figure' in a sentence
I know 'go figure' is used commonly, I would like to know if 'figure that!' can be used alternatively too?
Pls advise.
Thanks
28
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9answers
12k views
Why are they 'nude photos'? [duplicate]
Recent news events in the US have resulted in many headlines about "nude photos of young women" and variations.
Obviously it's the women who are nude, not the photos, so why does this phrasing ...
2
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2answers
127 views
‘Dog issue’: a compound or a noun phrase?
I’m so confused of the following expression:
‘the hot dog issue’.
The dialogue is following:
A: Have you heard of the hot dog issue?
B: Yes, I have. These days, the dog’s euthanasia problem is very ...
0
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2answers
514 views
What does “open recs” means?
This is entire message:
As time goes to infinity we plan on having Stripes building products very close to as many of our customers as possible, which is (much) more widely distributed than the ...
-1
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2answers
64 views
can cattleguard be spelled as one word
i'm unable to find cattleguard listed as a single word anywhere, but I think it ought to be an acceptable spelling
2
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2answers
2k views
The compound noun “race car”
Most dictionaries spell the compound noun "race car" as two separate words, but there is also "racecar" as one word on a lot of websites. My question is: is it ok to use it as one word "racecar"?
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1answer
152 views
What do you mean by Communication Network? [closed]
In the following concept, what do you mean by Communication Network?
There is an association (an inter-continental one) in which each member participates in building relation among its member through ...
0
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1answer
118 views
Confusing preposition with words [closed]
[Implication of] AND [implication for]
Although I have tried to find the meaning of these two word combinations, it hasn't allowed me to differentiate their meanings properly. Any explanation on ...
3
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2answers
6k views
time-consuming vs time consuming?
Should the phrase time consuming hyphenated or not?
In the context I'm using it in, the hyphen seems right.
"Painting the walls with chalkboard paint and providing chalk allows customers to make ...
0
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1answer
97 views
Use of adjectives in compound nouns
Here are two compound nouns
Heavy pipe fitting works.
The biggest pipe fitting works.
In the first compound noun the adjective heavy qualifies the first noun pipe. But in the second compound noun, ...
1
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1answer
78 views
Words that can be decomposed entirely into parts which are anagrams of each other [closed]
I recently noticed that teammate is composed of two anagrams, and was wondering if anyone had any other examples of this, or even better, a name for this phenomenon?
-1
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2answers
2k views
Any other compound words with opposite meanings like “bittersweet”? [closed]
I was curious if there were other words like "bittersweet". To clarify, I'm interested in compound words where the 2 sub-words' meanings are opposites.
Is "bittersweet" unusual in this respect? I ...
0
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1answer
2k views
Which spelling should I use: “grass roots” or “grassroots”?
Both Oxford Online and Merriam-Webster dictionaries show grass roots with a space between the two words in the compound noun.
But this ngram shows substantially more hits for grassroots without a ...
0
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1answer
4k views
Is Time Constrained acceptable?
I've composed a sentence but I'm not sure if it's acceptable.
This is a time constrained campaign.
I want to make the time constraint sound like an adjective but I don't know how. I just ended up ...
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6answers
2k views
What do you call the track made by two wheels?
In centuries gone by, before roads were made, what were the trails/paths/roads called that were made by the frequent passage of wagon teams or carriages joining towns together?
2
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2answers
851 views
Can I call a vacuum cleaner cleaner a vacuum cleaner?
Can I call a vacuum cleaner cleaner a vacuum cleaner?
This was written in a hallway. Can you help me dissect what's going on here, along with an appropriate response?
By dissect, I mean I'd like to ...
-1
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1answer
2k views
How should the phrase “thank you” be written in the following sentence? [duplicate]
According to prevalent formal writing style rules,
Should the phrase be in quotes (as in "thank you" or thank you)?
Should T of Thank be capital?
Should there be a hyphen?
They did not give him a ...
0
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1answer
2k views
Word for “valid excuse”?
I'm searching for a word that would mean an excuse is valid. An excuse sounds like something that is negative, but a valid excuse it positive/neutral. Is there such a word?
1
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0answers
102 views
How to avoid ambiguity and convey specific meaning in compound names ? (name + name)
There are already other questions regarding compound names (noun + noun) and now I better understand the general rule, which seems to be, unless dealing with an exception, to only make plural one of ...
1
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0answers
470 views
Compound nouns versus Modified nouns
1/ Can all noun modifier + head-noun constructions be regarded as compounds ?
2/ How can we test or identify that a two-noun word is a compound or just an
attributive noun + noun construction ? ...
0
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1answer
141 views
The use of “over-” as an excess term (as in “overzealous”)
Is the word "overzealous" only used in a negative sense? Because I understand that "over-exaggerate" is used in a negative way due to it's double-excessive use. Would that mean any excessive term ...
4
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1answer
2k views
Should hyphenated compound words be permitted to break across lines?
When using a hyphenated compound word (i.e., a compound adjective, verb, or noun) in a document and the word splits across two lines due to it being at the end of a line, is it considered improper to ...
1
vote
2answers
107 views
Difference among Show as, Show with, and Show by
Is there any differences among theses sentences? Which one is better?
We show the quantity with n.
We show the quantity as n.
We show the quantity by n.
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2answers
846 views
Confused about the grammar of “good mood” and “good spirits”
consider this link
"Good mood" here, the word "good" clearly describes the word "mood". As far as I am concerned, I could change the word "good" in any other words that would be able to describe "...
3
votes
2answers
380 views
What is the grammatical construction behind the word “climbing” in the phrase “climbing wall” or the word “running” in the phrase “running” shoes?
I am curious about the grammar behind the word "climbing" in the phrase "climbing wall" (or the word "running" in the phrase "running shoes," etc).
I first thought it was an adjective describing the ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
How can one decide whether to use the compound form of a word when the one- or two-word versions are acceptable? [duplicate]
This question is an attempt to find an abstract answer to every "one word or two?" discussion.
My problem is exemplified by this scenario:
My text editor's spellchecker recently corrected me on my ...
1
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2answers
1k views
Is “star wars” equivalent to “wars of the stars” ? Then how about “world war”? [duplicate]
I have some questions:
Why "star wars" and not "stars wars"?
Is "star wars" equivalent to "wars of the stars"? In French it would be "les guerres des etoiles", what about the English version?
If ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Open non-compositional compound nouns
Closely related to my other question, I am searching for an open/spaced compound noun for which the following properties hold:
Its constituents have a well-known association. Such as "honey" and this ...
3
votes
1answer
199 views
How does your orange peel?
Increasingly over the last few years, UK supermarkets and grocers have offered us things called 'Easy Peelers' (also easy-peelers, and in one case I've seen, easypeelers).
It's a generic term that ...
0
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1answer
4k views
What is the difference between straight line and line? [closed]
Since I belongs to mathematics. I always uses the word straight line in my field. According to us straight line is a locus of all points in which the moving point does not changes its direction or ...
2
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1answer
982 views
Where can I find a list of words that contain one or more spaces, such as ice cream? [closed]
This post asked if ice cream was one word or two.
John Lawler's comment seems logical and accurate to me:
"Space: The Final Frontier. The answer to the question is "Yes". That
is, some people ...
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1answer
440 views
Are All Compound Nouns Countable
Are all Compound Nouns Countable? for example traffic is an uncountable noun but traffic jam is countable.
sorry for my mundane question
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2answers
4k views
Joining two words to make a single word
I am international engineering student studying in US. I have a question regarding words that are created as a result of joining two words. Usually this happens when two technologies or methodologies ...
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2answers
12k views
“a while” vs “awhile”
Is there a difference between "awhile" and "a while"? If there is, what is it? I've been wondering this for awhile, but now I actually need the answer.
3
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5answers
4k views
Why is it “wherever” instead of “whereever”?
The popular question words how, when, what, why, which and some more all have their accompanying word ending in -ever, like however and whatever.
It seems to me that the word wherever is somewhat ...
0
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2answers
2k views
Confusion over the general rules governing the use of the hyphen in English [duplicate]
I often get confused by the rules for using hyphens. According to this entry from the Oxford Dictionaries web site, I must always use a hyphen in these cases:
Hyphens are used in many compound ...
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2answers
19k views
Is grownup, grown up, or grown-up the correct usage (as a noun)? [closed]
When used as a noun (meaning an adult), is "grownup", "grown up", or "grown-up" more appropriate?
