cardboard
UK[ˈkɑːd.bɔːd]US[ˈkɑːrd.bɔːrd]
n
A stiff, thick type of paper, often made from recycled material, used for making boxes and other containers.
adj
(of a character or situation) lacking depth and realism; artificial.
Morpheme Breakdown
card
board
card
board
Etymology
The word 'cardboard' is a transparent English compound formed from two native elements. 'Card' entered English from the Latin 'charta', via French, carrying its core meaning of a sheet of paper. 'Board' is a native English word of Germanic origin, originally denoting a flat, wooden plank. The compound, emerging in the late 16th century, logically combines these two concepts to name a material that is essentially a thick, board-like card. Its modern, metaphorical adjectival sense ('cardboard character') directly extends from the material's perceived qualities of being stiff, flat, and insubstantial.
Analysis
Structure: card + board
- card (from Old French carte, from Latin charta 'paper, leaf of paper', from Greek khartēs 'layer of papyrus'): The base element referring to a sheet of paper or stiff material.
- board (from Old English bord 'plank, flat surface, shield'): A suffix indicating a flat, rigid sheet or piece of material.
Examples
The package was protected by a layer of sturdy cardboard.
He constructed a model city entirely out of cardboard and glue.
The villain was a rather cardboard figure with no believable motivation.