Root compound

Definition
A root compound is a compound whose head is not deverbal or whose non-head does not have the function of argument of the verb from which the head is derived.

Example
English compounds such as housewife, blackbird, overcoat, rattlesnake, well-formed, off-white, overlook, and so on do not have a deverbal head, and therefore can be called root compounds. A compound such as truck driver on the other hand has a deverbal head and the non-head is an argument of the embedded verb drive. The distinction between root compounds and synthetic compounds has played a major role in theoretical discussions since the late seventies. Another term for root compound is primary compound. Synthetic compound.

Links

 * Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics