death-penalty

The compound "death-penalty" is a transparent combination of two English nouns, each with deep historical roots. "Death" originates from the Old English 'dēaþ', which is derived from the Proto-Germanic 'dauþuz', itself from the Proto-Indo-European root 'dheu-' meaning "to die." "Penalty" entered English via Anglo-Norman and Old French, tracing back to the Latin 'poena' (meaning "penalty" or "punishment"), which was borrowed from Greek 'poinē' (meaning "price paid, penalty, blood-money"). The compound's logic is direct and literal, combining the ultimate state ("death") with the legal consequence ("penalty") to denote the most severe judicial punishment.

Structure: death (state of being dead) + penalty (punishment) - death: From Old English 'dēaþ', of Germanic origin, meaning the end of life. It functions as a noun specifying the condition. - penalty: From Middle French 'penalité', from Medieval Latin 'poenālitās', from Latin 'poena' (punishment). It functions as a noun meaning a punishment imposed for breaking a law or rule.