compound

English has two words spelled compound: the verb, adjective and noun meaning combining or combined, from Latin componere, and the noun meaning an enclosure, from Malay.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/; /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/ (UK)^[4]

compound¹ combine; a combination

Etymology

It is Middle English compounen, borrowed from Old French compondre (“to arrange, direct”), componre (present stem compon-),^[1][3][5][2] from Latin compōnere (“to put together”), from com- (“together”) and pōnere (“to place”) (see position).^[1][3] The unetymological -d appeared in the 16th century, as in expound and propound, perhaps also influenced by the adjective, the old past participle compouned.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To mix or combine: about 1380, in Chaucer;^[1] to put together, join, 1393 in the OED.^[6] The adjective, composed of several elements, is from the late 14th century.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

To settle a dispute or debt by agreement is from the 15th century,^[5] and in law, to accept money in return for not prosecuting, compounding a felony, follows.^[8][9] The noun, a compound word, is from 1530, and a compound substance from the 17th century.^[2][5] The compound sentence is from 1772, and the compound eye from 1836.^[3] To make worse by adding to, as compound the problem, and compound interest are later senses.^[8][10]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – to mix, combine.^[1]
• late 14th century – compound (adjective).^[3]
• 15th century – to settle a debt.^[5]
• 1530 – a compound word.^[2]
• 1772 – compound sentence.^[3]
• 1836 – compound eye.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A thing made up of two or more parts or elements.
2. (chemistry) A substance formed by the chemical union of two or more elements in fixed proportions.
3. (grammar) A word made up of two or more words, such as blackbird.

Adjective

1. Made up of two or more parts: a compound fracture.

Verb

1. To make worse by adding to: compound the problem.
2. To combine or mix.
3. To calculate interest on both the principal and accumulated interest.
4. (law) To agree, for payment, not to prosecute a crime.

compound² enclosure

Etymology

It is borrowed from Malay kampung (“enclosure, village, quarter of a town”), kampong,^[1][3][2] perhaps through Dutch or Portuguese,^[3] with the spelling changed by the influence of compound, to combine.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The enclosure of a factory or settlement of Europeans in the East: 1679, the 1670s in Etymonline.^[1][2][3]

Semantic evolution

According to Yule and Burnell's Anglo-Indian glossary, Englishmen first used it in the early factories of the Malay Archipelago; it then spread to India and other parts of the British Empire.^[1] It was later used of the enclosed quarters of workers at South African diamond mines.^[3][11]

Timeline

• 1679 – a European enclosure in the East.^[1]
• 19th century – a mine workers' compound.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An enclosed area containing a group of buildings, such as houses, a factory or a prison camp.
2. (South Africa) Enclosed living quarters for mine workers.

Related words

• component
• composite
• compose
• position
• kampong

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles, Dictionary Unit for South African English, https://dsae.co.za