Synthetic compound

Definition
Synthetic compound is a particular type of compound, viz. compounds whose head is derived from a verb by affixation, and where the non-head fulfills the function of argument or complement of the verb.

Example
The English compounds truck driver, truck driving, fast acting and pan fried are synthetic compounds. Synthetic compounds have played a major role in the development of linguistic theory, since they raise a number a questions concerning the morphology-syntax interface. Another term for synthetic compound is verbal compound.

Links

 * Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics