Compounds

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances consisting of two or more different elements chemically joined ; objects or ideas produced by combining separate parts
2. Materials made from elements linked together in fixed proportions ; products formed by bringing together various components
3. Chemicals composed of multiple elements connected by bonds ; entities created by assembling different parts or aspects

Etymology: The plural "compounds" is the form of "compound", a noun that most readers meet first in chemistry, where it names a substance built from elements joined in fixed proportions. Its core idea is simply "putting things together," and the word was assembled from two Latin pieces, "com-" meaning "together" and "ponere" meaning "to put," which passed through Old French "componre" and Middle English "compounen" before the noun came into use. The English word itself also has a surprising sibling. Its Malay-derived cousin "kampung," meaning a group of buildings or village, reached European languages through Dutch or Portuguese traders, and the two forms have likely been pushed closer together in spelling by the influence of the "put together" sense. This means one of the most ordinary words for a joined-up mixture shares a history with a word for a settlement on the other side of the world.

Synonyms: mixtures, combinations, blends, composites, alloys

Antonyms: elements, singles, solids, purities, independents