compounded
UK[kəmˈpaʊndɪd]US[kəmˈpaʊndɪd]
adj
(of interest) calculated on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods.
verb (past tense and past participle)
Made something bad become worse; intensified.
verb (past tense and past participle)
Combined or mixed several things together.
Morpheme Breakdown
com
pound
ed
com
together
pound
put
ed
past/adj. suffix
Etymology
The word 'compounded' originates from the Latin verb componere, meaning "to put together". This verb is a fusion of the prefix com- ("together") and the verb ponere ("to place, put"). The term entered English via Old French compondre, evolving in spelling to 'compound'. The literal sense of "putting things together" logically extended to the financial concept of combining principal and interest, and metaphorically to the intensification of a situation by adding negative elements. The suffix '-ed' marks it as a verb form or an adjective derived from that action.
Analysis
Structure: com (together) + pound (put) + ed (past/adj. suffix)
- com: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "together, with".
- pound: From Latin ponere (to put, place), via Old French pondre. The form 'pound' is a direct substring of the modern spelling.
- ed: Old English origin, a suffix used to form the past tense and past participle of verbs, or adjectives from verbs.
Examples
The problem was compounded by a lack of clear communication.
He invested in an account that paid compounded interest annually.
The pharmacist compounded a special ointment from several ingredients.