compound

compound

English

Etymology 1

Possibly from Malay kampong, kampung (“group of buildings, village”), via Dutch or Portuguese[1], altered under the influence of Etymology 2. Doublet of kampung.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/
• (General American) enPR: kŏm'pound, IPA^(key): /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

compound (plural compounds)

1. An enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or soldiers are confined.

   Synonyms: gaol, jail, pen, pound, prison; see also Thesaurus:prison

2. An enclosure for secure storage.
   • 2020 December 2, “Network News: News in brief: More cycle spaces”, in Rail, page 27:

     A total of 75 cycle spaces are being installed at three Greater Anglia stations - [...]. And a secure compound for bicycles is being built at Cambridge North.

3. A group of buildings situated close together, e.g. for a school or block of offices.
   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, OCLC 246633669, PC, scene: Normandy SR-1:

     Shepard: What kind of proof do you have that the major is dangerous?
     Transmission: Three days ago, we sent two Alliance representatives to meet with him at his compound. They have disappeared. We believe Kyle and his followers killed them.
     Transmission: That compound is a cult, Shepard. They call him 'Father Kyle' now. He's set himself up as some kind of religious leader.

   • 2019 March 7, Masayuki, Yuda, “Thai court: pro-Thaksin party must disband for nominating princess”, in Nikkei Asian Review‎, Nikkei Inc, retrieved 2019-03-07:

     Some 20 supporters managed to get inside the court compounds. About half an hour after the verdict was delivered, they gathered near the Constitutional Court entrance and shouted: "On March 24, use your pen to oust the dictator."

Translations

enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or soldiers are confined

Bulgarian: оградено мя́сто n (ogradeno mjásto) Dutch: verbinding (nl) Estonian: kompleks Finnish: laitos (fi) French: complexe (fr) m German: Komplex (de) m, Lager (de) n, Block (de) m, Gelände (de) n, Gehege (de) n Greek: περίβολος (el) m (perívolos) Hungarian: fogolytábor (hu) Irish: clós (ga) m, bábhún m, compún m Italian: campo di prigionìa (for prisoners) Maori: takanga, iāri, rāihe Portuguese: cercado (pt) m Russian: огоро́женное ме́сто n (ogoróžennoje mésto), компа́унд (ru) m (kompáund) (for people, foreign context) Serbo-Croatian: logor (sh), tabor (sh) Swedish: inhägnad (sv) c, läger (sv) n, gård (sv) c

group of buildings for the same purpose

Chinese: Mandarin: 小區／小区 (zh) (xiǎoqū) Dutch: complex (nl) Finnish: rakennuskompleksi French: complexe (fr) m Galician: complexo m German: Komplex (de) m, Anwesen (de) n, Block (de) m, Ensemble (de) n Greek: συγκρότημα (el) n (sygkrótima) Irish: clós (ga) m, bábhún m, compún m Italian: complesso (it) m Portuguese: complexo (pt) m Russian: ко́мплекс (ru) m (kómpleks), компа́унд (ru) m (kompáund) Serbo-Croatian: kompleks (sh) Spanish: complejo (es) m

Etymology 2

From Middle English compounen, from Middle French componre, compondre (“to put together”), from Latin componō, from Latin com- (“together”) + ponō (“to put”).

Pronunciation

• adj. and noun (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• adj. and noun (US) enPR: kŏm'pound, IPA^(key): /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/
• verb (US, UK) enPR: kəmpound', IPA^(key): /kəmˈpaʊnd/

  • audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊnd

Adjective

compound (not comparable)

1. Composed of elements; not simple.

   Synonym: composite

   Antonym: simple

   a compound word

   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, OCLC 1325830848:

     Compound substances are made up of two or more simple substances.

2. (mathematics) Dealing with numbers of various denominations of quantity, or with processes more complex than the simple process.

   compound addition

   compound proportion

3. (music) An octave higher than originally (i.e. a compound major second is equivalent to a major ninth).

Derived terms

• compound animal
• compound attack
• compound bow
• compound butter
• compound chocolate
• compound control
• compound curve
• compound duple
• compound engine
• compound eye
• compound fracture
• compound householder
• compound imperative
• compound interest
• compound interval
• compound key
• compound labour
• compound leaf
• compoundly
• compound machine
• compound meter
• compound microscope
• compound modifier
• compound pattern
• compound pendulum
• compound predicate word
• compound proportion
• compound sentence
• compound symbol
• compound time

 

Translations

composed of elements

Arabic: مُرَكَّب‎ (ar) (murakkab) Bulgarian: съставен (bg) (sǎstaven), сло́жен (bg) (slóžen) Catalan: compost (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 混合物 (zh) Czech: složený (cs) m Dutch: samengesteld (nl) Esperanto: kombinita Finnish: yhdistetty (fi), yhdys- (fi); kerrannainen (fi) (botany) French: composé (fr) German: zusammengesetzt (de), zusammengestellt (de), mehrteilig (de), mehrschichtig (de) Greek: σύνθετος (el) (sýnthetos), συμμιγής (el) (symmigís) Ancient: μίγμα n (mígma) Indonesian: senyawa (id) Irish: comh- (of words) Italian: composto (it) m, costituito (it) m Maori: pūhui Norwegian: Bokmål: sammensatt (no) Persian: آمیخته‎ (fa) (âmixta), همساخته‎ (hamsâxta), مرکب‎ (fa) Portuguese: composto (pt) m Russian: составно́й (ru) (sostavnój), сло́жный (ru) (slóžnyj) Slovene: sestavljen Spanish: compuesto (es) Swedish: sammansatt (sv) Tagalog: langkapin, lambalan, linambal Tibetan: འདྲེས་མ ('dres ma)

Noun

Examples (linguistics)
laptop, formed from lap and top

compound (plural compounds)

1. Anything made by combining several things.

   Synonyms: amalgam, blend, combination, composite, mix, mixture

2. (chemistry) A substance formed by chemical bonding of two or more elements in definite proportions by weight.

   Coordinate terms: substance, element, mixture, composite

3. (chemistry, dated) A substance made from any combination of ingredients.
4. (linguistics) A lexeme that consists of more than one stem.

   Synonym: compound word

   Hyponyms: closed compound, open compound

   • 2018, Clarence Green; James Lambert, “Position vectors, homologous chromosomes and gamma rays: Promoting disciplinary literacy through Secondary Phrase Lists”, in English for Specific Purposes, DOI:10.1016/j.esp.2018.08.004, page 8:

     Compositionally there is no great distinction between cell wall and cell surface, both are relatively transparent compounds, but both parts of the cell are of high significance in Biology due to their central role in cell functioning.

5. (linguistics) A lexeme that consists of more than one stem or an affix, e.g. bookshop, high school or non-standard.
   • 1989, OED2:

     In the majority of the compounds of non- the hyphen is usually retained; but it is commonly omitted in the case of a few, such as nonconformist, nonentity, nonsense, in which the etymology has been to some extent lost sight of.

6. (rail transport) A compound locomotive, a steam locomotive with both high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders.
   • 1961 March, ""Balmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 148:

     From a dead stand, with regulator full open and the lever at about 50 per cent we got up to about 60 m.p.h. by the top of the bank. The big compound was making plenty of noise - but what musical and wonderful noise!

7. Short for compound exercise.

Derived terms

• Amadori compound
• ansa compound
• aromatic compound
• arsonium compound
• azo compound
• binary compound
• cage compound
• catena compound
• chelate compound
• chemical compound
• clathrate compound
• cluster compound
• complex compound
• coordination compound
• covalent compound
• diazoamino compound
• diazo compound
• diazonium compound
• fluxional compound
• Heusler compound
• hypervalent compound
• inclusion compound
• inorganic compound
• intercalation compound
• interhalogen compound
• intermetallic compound
• ionic compound
• isonitroso compound
• macrocyclic compound
• mesoionic compound
• metal cluster compound
• molecular compound
• non-stoichiometric compound
• organic compound
• organometallic compound
• palmate compound
• palmately compound
• pan-assay interference compound
• parent compound
• phono-semantic compound
• Pittsburgh compound B
• quaternary ammonium compound
• quaternary compound
• sandwich compound
• solid compound
• spiro compound
• super-compound interest
• ternary compound
• tetranary compound
• thermal compound
• volatile organic compound

 

Translations

anything made by combining several things

Bulgarian: съчета́ние (bg) n (sǎčetánie) Catalan: compost (ca) m Finnish: yhdistelmä (fi), seos (fi) French: composé (fr) German: Mischung (de) f, Verbindung (de) f, Verbung m, Kompositum (de) n, Zusammensetzung (de) f, Präparat (de) n, Masse (de) f Greek: μίγμα (el) n (mígma), κράμα (el) n (kráma), αμάλγαμα (el) n (amálgama) Ancient: μίγμα n (mígma) Hungarian: keverék (hu) Irish: cumasc m, meascán m Italian: composto (it) m, miscuglio (it) m, amalgama (it) m Manx: covroojid f Maori: pūhui Persian: آمیخته‎ (fa) (âmixta), همساخته‎ (hamsâxta) Portuguese: composto (pt) m Russian: соедине́ние (ru) n (sojedinénije), сочета́ние (ru) n (sočetánije), компа́унд (ru) (kompáund) (technical) Spanish: compuesto (es) m Swedish: sammansättning (sv) c Turkish: karışım (tr)

chemistry: substance made by chemical combination of elements

Belarusian: злучэнне n (zlučennje) Bulgarian: съедине́ние (bg) n (sǎedinénie) Catalan: compost (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 化合物 (zh) (huàhéwù) Czech: sloučenina (cs) f Dutch: verbinding (nl) Finnish: yhdiste (fi) French: composé (fr) Georgian: ნაერთი (naerti) German: Verbindung (de) f Greek: ένωση (el) f (énosi) Hebrew: תרכובת‎ (he) f (tirkovet) Hungarian: vegyület (hu), vegyülék, elegy (hu) Icelandic: efnasamband n Indonesian: senyawa (id) Irish: comhdhúil f, cumasc m Italian: composto (it) m Japanese: 化合物 (ja) (かごうぶつ) Kazakh: қосылыс (qosylys) Korean: 화합물 (ko) (hwahammul) Lithuanian: junginys (lt) m Malay: sebatian (ms) Maori: pūhui Norwegian: Bokmål: forbindelse (no) m Nynorsk: forbindelse m, sambinding f Polish: związek (pl) m Portuguese: composto (pt) m Romanian: compus (ro) m Russian: соедине́ние (ru) n (sojedinénije) Samogitian: jongėnīs m Serbo-Croatian: spȏj (sh) m Slovak: zlúčenina (sk) f Slovene: spojina (sl) f Spanish: compuesto (es) Swedish: blandning (sv) c, förening (sv) c, sammansatt ämne n Tagalog: balangkap Thai: สารประกอบ (th) (sǎan-bprà-gɔ̀ɔp) Turkish: bileşim (tr) Vietnamese: hợp chất (vi) (合質)

linguistics: word formed by combining other words — see compound word

Verb

compound (third-person singular simple present compounds, present participle compounding, simple past and past participle compounded)

1. (transitive) To form (a resulting mixture) by combining different elements, ingredients, or parts; to mingle with something else.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:mix

   to compound a medicine

   • c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene v]:

     Only compound me with forgotten dust.

   • 1712 July 2 (Gregorian calendar)​, Joseph Addison; Richard Steele [et al.], “SATURDAY, June 21, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 411; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, OCLC 191120697:

     We have the power of altering […] and compounding those images […] into all the varieties of picture.

   • 1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], OCLC 230694662:

     incapacitating him from successfully compounding a tale of this sort

2. (transitive, law) To settle by agreeing on less than the claim, or on different terms than those stipulated.

   Synonym: settle

   to compound a debt

3. (transitive) To settle amicably; to adjust by agreement.

   Synonym: compromise

   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene i]:

     I pray, my lords, let me compound this strife.

   • 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, II.iii:

     No! no—if Charles has done nothing false or mean, I shall compound for his extravagance

4. (intransitive) To come to terms of agreement; to settle by a compromise.

   Synonyms: agree; see also Thesaurus:agree

   to compound with someone / for something

   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     Here's a fellow will help you to-morrow; […] compound with him by the year.

   • 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, OCLC 937919305:

     They were at last glad to compound for his bare commitment to the Tower.

   • 1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall. […], new edition, London: […] B. Law, […]; Penzance, Cornwall: J. Hewett, published 1769, OCLC 752813518:

     [Cornwall] compounded to furnish ten oxen after Michaelmas for thirty pounds.

   • 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, OCLC 963614346:

     Compound for sins they are inclined to / By damning those they have no mind to.

5. (transitive, obsolete) To compose; to constitute.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:compose

   • c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     his pomp and all what state compounds

6. (intransitive, finance) To increase in value with interest, where the interest is earned on both the principal sum and prior earned interest.
7. (transitive, see usage notes) To worsen a situation.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:make matters worse

   • 2020 April 12, Simon Tisdall, “US's global reputation hits rock-bottom over Trump's coronavirus response”, in The Guardian‎:

     […] This latest example of nationalistic self-interest compounded anger across the EU over Trump’s travel ban, imposed last month without consultation or scientific justification.

8. (horse racing, intransitive) Of a horse: to fail to maintain speed.
   • 1855, The Sporting Review (volume 34, page 240)

     At the hill, the Warrior must have been at least ten lengths in front of Wild Dayrell; but he compounded about 200 yards on the T. Y. C. side of the Red House.

Usage notes

The usage in sense 7 above, “to worsen a situation” is widespread but not wholly accepted. The original meaning of the word (see senses 2–4) implies resolution of a problem, not worsening. It has been suggested (Fraser 1973) that the reverse usage arose by confusion with phrases such as compound interest.

Derived terms

• compoundable
• compounder
• compounding pharmacy

Translations

to put together

Bulgarian: смесвам (bg) (smesvam), съединявам (bg) (sǎedinjavam) Finnish: yhdistää (fi), liittää (fi) French: composer (fr) German: zusammenstellen (de), mischen (de), zusammensetzen (de), verbinden (de), zusammenmischen (de), zusammenreiben Greek: αναμιγνύω (el) (anamignýo), μιγνύω (el) (mignýo), συνθέτω (el) (synthéto), παρασκευάζω (el) (paraskevázo) Hebrew: לשלב‎ Italian: mettere insieme, comporre (it) Portuguese: compor (pt) Russian: соединя́ть (ru) impf (sojedinjátʹ), объединя́ть (ru) impf (obʺjedinjátʹ), сме́шивать (ru) impf (sméšivatʹ) Slovene: sestaviti Swedish: blanda (sv) (ihop, till, tillsammans), sätta (sv) (ihop, samman)

law: to settle by agreeing less than the claim

German: sich vergleichen, einen Vergleich schließen, durch Vergleich regeln Greek: συμβιβάζω (el) (symvivázo) Swedish: bilägga (sv), förlika (sv), göra upp (sv)

to come to terms of agreement

Bulgarian: споразумявам се (sporazumjavam se) Finnish: kompromissi (fi) German: übereinkommen (de), Übereinkunft treffen, sich vergleichen Greek: συμφωνώ (el) (symfonó) Italian: accordarsi (it), mettersi d'accordo Swedish: förlikas (sv), kompromissa (sv), nå förlikning (sv) c, träffa avtal (sv) n, träffa överenskommelse (sv) c

finance: to increase in value with interest

Maori: whakaputu

to worsen a situation

German: verschlimmern (de), erschweren (de) Spanish: agravar (es)

See also

• Appendix:Compounds

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “compound”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

• Compound in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• Compound word, encyclopedia.com
• compound at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “compound”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• “compound”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “compound”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “compound” (US) / “compound” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• compound in Britannica Dictionary
• Compounds, dictionary.cambridge.org
• 6. Compounding Rules, govinfo.gov
• How do you decide whether a compound should be written as one word, separate words, or hyphenated words?, merriam-webster.com
• A Comprehensive Guide to Forming Compounds, merriam-webster.com
• English Language > Composition, britannica.com