Compounds

[_Lynn_]

Compounds Formed with Specific Terms

ache: toothache, stomachache. (always closed)

all: all out, all along, all in, all over, an all-out effort, an all-American player, the book is all-encompassing. (Adverbial phrases open; adjectival phrases hyphenated both before and after a noun.]

book: reference book, coupon book, checkbook, cookbook [Open if not in the dictionary].

borne: waterborne, foodborne, cab-borne, mosquito-borne. [Normally closed, but hyphenated after words ending in b and other words of three or more syllables].




Some of the threads might have duplicate information, but I think twice is better than not at all.

 

[sr71plt]

Unfortunately compounding can be quite complex. The combined term could be treated differently as a combined noun, as a combined adjective before a noun, and as a combined predicate adjective. "Mosquito-bourne" is an example. As a combined adjective before its noun, it's hyphenated, but as a predicate adjective, it isn't; it's two words.

So: "The mosquito-bourne diseases of the coastal swampland kept property sales low." And "The diseases that kept the property values low in the coastal swampland were mosquito bourne."

I have extensive notes on what to do--and the dictionary is a help, but even it doesn't give all variations depending on where the combined term is in the sentence--but it's kind of a sticky wicket to get into.

 

[_Lynn_]

Unfortunately compounding can be quite complex. The combined term could be treated differently as a combined noun, as a combined adjective before a noun, and as a combined predicate adjective. "Mosquito-bourne" is an example. As a combined adjective before its noun, it's hyphenated, but as a predicate adjective, it isn't; it's two words.

So: "The mosquito-bourne diseases of the coastal swampland kept property sales low." And "The diseases that kept the property values low in the coastal swampland were mosquito bourne."

I have extensive notes on what to do--and the dictionary is a help, but even it doesn't give all variations depending on where the combined term is in the sentence--but it's kind of a sticky wicket to get into.

I'm sure you have extensive notes for many areas of editing. I don't. And I'll assume most others here don't. So maybe we can learn a little from the assorted threads in the EF.

 

[_Lynn_]

cross: cross-reference, cross-referenced, cross-grained, cross-country, crossbow, crossover. (Noun, adjective, and adverb forms hyphenated, except for some permanent compounds)

e: e-mail, e-article, e-commerce, e-marketing, e-zine, e-graduate school

ex: ex-boyfriend, ex-marine, ex-corporate executive

 

[sr71plt]

When directly modifying a noun, compounds beginning with "all," "self," "half," "high," or "low" are hyphenated:

self-confident (hyphenated even in the predicate)

low-level job (but "His job was low level.")

all-knowing (but "She was all knowing.")

half-asleep toddler (but "The toddler was half asleep.")

 

[sr71plt]

Two lines of extended relatives ("grand" and "step") are closed:

grandfather
grandnephew
granddaughter
stepmother
stepson
stepparent
stepfamily

One line is hyphenated

great-grandfather
great-grandmother
great-great-grandfather
great-niece
great-nephew

(however, in U.S. style the later two should be "grandniece" and "grandnephew")

 

[sr71plt]

With a few exceptions (which should be reflected in the dictionary) compounded words with the following prefixes are closed. When in doubt, close them--probably the bulk of an editor's work/time is spent in closing these words in an author's text. For many authors, they often have to devote an entirely separate pass of the text doing this. If there was one thing an author could do to help an editor concentrate on the context rather than the presentation, it would to close these compound words:

ante
anti
bi
bio
co
counter
extra
infra
inter
intra
macro
meta
over
post
pre
pro
proto
pseudo
re
semi
socio
sub
supra
super
trans
ultra
un
under

Some exceptions (there are a few "one-off" exceptions in the dictionary as well)

Sometimes (but not always), words are hyphenated to avoid doubling a vowel (e.g., "anti-inflammatory." Webster's includes a list of prefix compounds at the first point of that prefix.)

A hyphen is used if the prefix is used with a formal noun (e.g., "mid-August")

An en dash is used if the prefix is used with a compound formal noun (e.g., "pre[en dash]Civil War")

When there might be a mixup where a prefix added would replicate an already-existing word, and especially if it's pronounced differently, a hyphen might be used (e.g., "re-creation," meaning "create again" hyphenated to avoid mixing up with "recreation," as in playing touch football--and pronounced differently. I always gnash my teeth when Cat Stevens sings "recreation" rather than "re-creation" in "Morning Has Broken")

 

[ishtat]

--but it's kind of a sticky wicket to get into.

I know it's off topic but I was surprised and mildly delighted to see an American use the cricketing expression "a sticky wicket."

Could it be because the only area in the USA where cricket was ever played much was on the mid Atlantic coastal region and north to Boston - though the games popularity was pretty much eclipsed by the 1920's in the US.

Hyper pedantically, however, a sticky wicket is a wicket that one would get onto rather than into.

 

[sr71plt]

I know it's off topic but I was surprised and mildly delighted to see an American use the cricketing expression "a sticky wicket."

Could it be because the only area in the USA where cricket was ever played much was on the mid Atlantic coastal region and north to Boston - though the games popularity was pretty much eclipsed by the 1920's in the US.

Hyper pedantically, however, a sticky wicket is a wicket that one would get onto rather than into.

I think the expression has been absorbed by many Americans, probably through British movies and TV programs. I probably picked it up by living in fromer British colonies for a good many years. It's in Webster's (origin, 1882), so it's considered a standard American term.

 

[_Lynn_]

old

decade-old
a three-year-old
a 105-year-old woman
a centuries-old debate
the debate is centuries old
(Hyphenated, especially before a noun)


on

online
onstage
ongoing
on-screen
on-site (Sometimes closed, sometimes hyphenated; check dictionary and hyphenate if term is not listed)

 

[sr71plt]

The "Almost Always" (just because the English language provides a bumpy ride) Open Compounds

1. Adjectives and adverbs that end in -ly. ("highly sensuous encounter")

2. chemical terms. ("sulfuric acid mixture")

3. colors in which the first modifies the second. ("reddish yellow hair") Hyphenate when the colors are of equal importance ("red-green" color blindness")

4. temporary compounds using "master" ("the master musician fell off his cello")

5. title plus "general" ("attorney general"/"postmaster general") (Exception, for some unknown reason: "secretary-general." Exceptions should be listed in the dictionary)

6. Foreign phrases that have crept into English. ("post mortem examination"/"ad hoc committee") (Exception: "laisezz-faire attitude")

7. proper nouns ("World War II"/"Far East Correspondent")

8. "quasi" in a noun compound. ("quasi specialist"/"quasi corporation" But: hyphenate as a compound adjective ("quasi-public corporation")

9. "Sometimes" in the case of temporary noun compounds formed by a noun and a gerund. ("basket weaving"/"problem solving") BUT: the decision goes back and forth on "decision making," and "lovemaking" is closed (I guess to maintain the skin-to-skin closeness), so it's best to look these up in the dictionary. If it isn't listed, keep it open. All of the open ones are hyphenated as compound adjectives ("decision-making process")

10. "vice" in a title. ("vice president"/"vice admiral")

 

[sr71plt]

Double-barreled position titles:

If each part of the compound describes a separate job, the title is hyphenated (secretary-treasurer); if one modifies the other, they are open (which is counterintuitive: vice admiral); when it's a completely made-up title that's really just one position, it seems to depend on established custom and how it was rendered originally (in the UN: secretary-general). If it's in the dictionary, use what's listed there.

 

[_Lynn_]

Bump . . .