bahuvrihi
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:44 am
From Bartleby and Encarta:
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. ba·hu·vri·his
A compound word functioning as an adjective whose last element is in origin a noun. For example, in the phrase high-fiber diet, the compound high-fiber is a bahuvrihi modifying diet that ends in the noun fiber.
A compound word in which the first part describes the second or governs it grammatically, and the second element cannot be substituted for the whole, e.g. "yellowhammer" or "afternoon"
Mid-19th century. < Sanskrit bahuvrīhi "possessing much rice," a typical example of this class.
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. ba·hu·vri·his
A compound word functioning as an adjective whose last element is in origin a noun. For example, in the phrase high-fiber diet, the compound high-fiber is a bahuvrihi modifying diet that ends in the noun fiber.
A compound word in which the first part describes the second or governs it grammatically, and the second element cannot be substituted for the whole, e.g. "yellowhammer" or "afternoon"
Mid-19th century. < Sanskrit bahuvrīhi "possessing much rice," a typical example of this class.
