Compounding

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of joining separate parts to make a single unit ; the process of earning interest on both initial money and previously gained interest ; the action of making something more extreme or stronger by adding to it
2. Combining two or more items or ideas into one entity ; growing money as interest is calculated on the original sum plus prior interest ; increasing force or degree through repeated enhancements
3. Forming one whole from multiple components ; the financial method where interest is computed repeatedly on accumulated amounts ; augmenting or heightening a quality by successive additions

Etymology: Compounding is the form of "compound" used as a participle and gerund, and the verb itself came into English from Middle French "componre" and "compondre", meaning "to put together." Those trace back to Latin "componere", built from "com-", meaning "together," and "ponere", meaning "to put." The Latin root gives the word its core sense of assembling separate parts into a single whole, which is still the basis of the physical and chemical meanings. The financial sense works on the same principle, only over time. When interest is added to a sum and the next period's interest is calculated on that enlarged total, the original amount is effectively put together with its own earnings, and the growth accelerates. The figurative sense, in which a problem or injury is made worse by repeated additions, follows the same pattern: each new layer is added to what came before.

Synonyms: combining, mingling