Compound Words – General English Study

Material

a Noun and Verb compounds: sunrise = sun + rise

(N) (V)
b Noun and Gerund compounds: air + conditioning
(N) (Gerund)
c Gerund and Noun compounds dancing + bird
(Gerund) (N)
d Noun and Noun compounds (also known school girl=school + girl
as verbless compounds)
(N) (N)
e Noun and Adjective compounds duty free = duty + free
(N) (Adj)

f Preposition and Noun compounds upstream = up + stream

(Prep) (N)

g Phrase compounds: used as adjectives good + for + nothing

(Adj) (Prep) (Noun)
long + forgotten
(Adj) + (Verb – Past
perfect)
day + to + day
(N) (Prep) (N)

Noun + Noun
dream-world
postman
bed-time
motorcycle
rabbit-hole
honeybee
chessmen
cork-screw
sun-dial
wonderland
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Noun + Adjective (participle)

knee-deep
homesick,
henpecked

Noun in Possessive case + Noun

craftsman
sportsman
childsplay

Adverb + Noun
insight
out-patient
postscript

Verbal noun in ‘-ing’ + Noun

looking-glass
washing machine

Adjective + ‘-ing’ participle

curious-looking
good-looking
shabby-looking easy-going

Adjective + ‘-ed’ participle

dreamy-eyed
long-awaited

Adverbial + deverbal Noun

daydream
boat-ride
push-button, treadmill Verb + Object
safeguard, whitewash Adjective + Verb
overthrow, upset Adverb + Verb

telephone operator, science teacher Object + Agential Noun with ‘er’/ ‘or’

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air-conditioning, sightseeing Object + verbal Noun with ‘-ing’

blackboard, blue print Adjective + Noun
lifelong, jet black Noun + Adjective
pop corn, cry baby Verb + Noun

Read the following sentences:

1. I We will have brunch at eleven o’clock so that we can use the hour for lunch break to finish the project.
2. The planes could not take off at the scheduled time on Saturday because of heavy smog in the city.
Here ‘brunch’ is formed by combining ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’.
Similarly ‘smog’ is formed by combining ‘smoke’ and ‘fog’. They are formed by a process of blending or
combining two words.

Task: Combine the words given below and form new words by
blending.
motorway + hotel =
motor + bike =
television + broadcast =
travel + catalogue =
international + police =
teleprinter + exchange =
electro + execute =
binary + digit =
motor + pedal cycle =
news + broadcast =
(Clue: One portion of the word to be formed is highlighted.)

(b) Look at the following sentences :

Alisha’s grandpa was searching for his specs.
He found it near the phone.
Be it the day before my exam, or even when I was down with flu, ....
Look at the words in bold. How are they formed?
They are formed by the process of ‘clipping’, that is, a portion of the original word is removed and the
remaining part is considered to be a word by itself.
specs is from spectacles (back clipping)
phone is from telephone (front clipping)
exam is from examination (back clipping)
flu is from influenza (front and back clipping)

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(i) a. Words formed by clipping

The following words are formed by clipping a part of a larger word while retaining the meaning of the original
word.
e.g: lab - lab(oratory)
ad - ad(vertisement)
Words are formed by front clipping as in:
1. (Hand) kerchief, (fountain) pen
2. Back clipping as in lab(oratory), gym(nasium)
3. Front and back clipping as in (de) marc(ate) = mark

In the following sentences the words formed by clipping are presented in italics. Match the words with those
given in the box to form the original word.
1. She has been on the phone for the last one hour.
2. I need a kilo of sugar to make this sweet.
3. The porter carried the cases to the waiting taxi.
4. My baby sister falls asleep in the pram when we take her out on a walk.
5. He likes to spend Saturday nights at the disco.
(suit ______ , _______ gram, ____e_____bulator, _______theque, tele________, ______ cab)
Check the dictionary to give the unclipped form of the following words.
1. burger 2. copter 3. Demo 4. tele 5. Mike

b. Using / identifying words formed by blending

Some words in English are formed by combining elements of two other words.
e.g. a) news + broadcast = newscast
The closing ceremony of the Olympics will feature in our newscast today.
e.g. b) international + police = Interpol
The Interpol are on the look-out for inter-continental smugglers.
Form words by ‘blending’:
1. travel + catalogue =
2. electro + execute =
3. helicopter + airport =
4. documentary + drama =
5. education + entertainment =

Rewrite the following sentences replacing the word in italics with an explanatory phrase.
e.g. We can stop at a motel for lunch.
We can stop for lunch at a hotel on the motorway (highway).
1. Most industrial towns are covered in smog in the early hours of the day.

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2. Deepak is a techno-wizard.
3. I prefer a vegeburger to a sandwich.
4. The British Council runs an infomercial centre to help students who want to go abroad.
5. The Russian ballet dancer presented a lecdem at the Russian Cultural Centre.

2. Eponymous words
Words whose origin is traced to individuals are known as Eponyms and the words derived from these names are
called Eponymous words.
e.g.:
1. ‘Boycott’ means ‘to shun or refuse to have dealings with as a means of protest or to force change’. Captain
Charles Boycott, a 19th Century Irish land agent was shunned by local tenants for refusing to lower their rents.
2. ‘Mesmerism’ means ‘the process or practice of inducing a hypnotic state’. Dr.Franz Anton Mesmer (1734 –
1815) was a German Physician who popularised the practice.
3. ‘Machiavellian’ means ‘cunning, crafty, seizing opportunities’.
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), a Florentine statesman, in his book ‘The Prince’, described how a determined
ruler could gain and keep political power regardless of morality.

Given below are words derived from the name of persons. A brief account of the person is provided. Can you
guess the meaning of the word from the account?
1. Silhouette - Etienne de Silhouette, a French Author (1709(Noun) - 1767) and politician, decorated his
residence with outline portraits.
2. Draconian - Draco, Chief Magistrate of Athens, (Adjective) introduced a harsh penal code in 621 BC.
3. Lynch - Captain William Lynch, an 18th century (Verb) Virginian Planter and Justice of Peace, would
summarily execute the arrested persons usually by hanging without a proper trial.

3. a. Euphemisms
Euphemism is the use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a harsh or possibly offensive one.
e.g. This school is for the visually challenged. (blind)
Here are a few sentences in which euphemisms have been used:
1. The funeral director / mortician (undertaker) was called to carry out the preparations for the funeral.
2. You will find the rest-room (lavatory) at the end of the corridor.
3. My mother is a homemaker. (housewife)

3. b. Cliche
The word ‘cliché’ comes from the French word ‘clicher’

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‘Cliché’ refers to ‘a phrase or word which is used too often to the point of monotony’. A good user of English
will be too careful to avoid clichés in his speech and writing.

Look at the following sentences:

1. Both of us have not prepared for tomorrow’s test and we are sailing in the same boat.
2. The class leader appealed to his classmates to maintain silence but it fell on deaf ears.
3. My joy knew no bounds when I received the first prize in the oratorical competition.
.

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