Hyphenated compounds are two words joined by a hyphen, often adjectives or nouns, used to create a different meaning. They are the least used form of compound words and can progress to a one-word compound. They are used to avoid confusion and modify pronouns. English terms with words in the middle or more than two words are usually hyphenated. Many words have changed over time due to spelling or usage, and some have been dropped.
A hyphenated compound is two English words joined by a hyphen. The two words are often adjectives or nouns, and can be used on their own, but combined with a hyphen they represent a different thing. Common examples are “part-time,” “high-speed,” and “editor-in-chief.” Because English is not completely consistent, and because written language changes, the use of a hyphenated compound is not always regulated.
The hyphenated compound is generally the least used form of compound word. Often words begin as an open compound, progress to a hyphenated compound, and, with frequent use in the English language, are combined in the common lexicon as a single word. An example is the combination of the two words “key” and “card” used separately to describe a computer tool in the early days of its use. They are then combined after some use into a hyphenated compound: “keyboard”. Often, as this usage becomes common, the hyphen is phased out and the term becomes a one-word compound: “keyboard.”
Modifying and descriptive pronouns often use a hyphenated compound to avoid confusion. Descriptive words like big-time, yellow-green, and skyscraper are combined to make sentences clearer and to combine two unrelated words into one idea. A term like “high-risk situation,” without a hyphenated compound, could be confusing. The term obviously refers to a situation of imminent danger. Without the hyphen it would read “high danger situation” and could describe the same situation with a hyphen, or it could describe a “high” situation (as in high), with a threat of danger (not necessarily “high”). This new construction completely alters its meaning.
Also, English terms with words in the middle or more than two words are usually hyphenated, such as carousel, father-in-law, or ten-year-old. In cases like these, most of the time the term is made plural by adding an “s” to the last word of the set. In some unusual cases, however, the term is made plural by adding an “s” to the first word, usually the noun, such as “lawyers.”
Many words began as one type of compound in England under the Germanic languages, but changed to another type of compound after the alteration of the language in 1066 with the Norman invasion. Some words have just been changed over time due to awkward spelling or usage, and some words, like the original title of Herman Melville’s “MoDick,” have simply been dropped because they made more sense or sounded more natural without a hyphenation. composed.
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