This can be a noun or a verb.
As a noun, it can mean a well-combined mixture, often used in patching things like roads or teeth. A chemical compound is also such a mixture, but more closely bound. This kind of compound can also be used as a modifier, as in "compound noun". But there's also the compound that describes a defined area, as "the Kennedy compound".
As a verb, it means to produce a defined mixture, and the participle specifies who or what is doing this, as "compounding pharmacist". It can also be used as an intensifier, "compound the confusion".
Where did the areal meaning come from?
compound
- Slava
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Re: compound
According to etymonline, that sense comes from Malay (Austronesian) kampong.
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