dual-career

The compound adjective 'dual-career' is a modern formation that logically combines two established English words to describe a specific social phenomenon. The first element, 'dual', traces back to the Latin duo for "two," entering English via Latin to signify anything involving two parts. The second element, 'career', has a more vivid journey, originating from the Latin carrus for a "wheeled vehicle," which evolved through Romance languages to mean a "racecourse" and subsequently metaphorically extended to one's course or progress through life, especially in professional terms. Thus, the term's literal logic is "of or pertaining to two professional life-paths," precisely capturing the concept of both members of a couple pursuing individual, active work lives, a concept that gained prominence in the late 20th century.

Structure: dual (two) + career (profession) - dual: From Latin dualis, from duo (two). An adjective-forming suffix indicating a state or condition of being two. - career: From French carrière, from Italian carriera, from Late Latin carraria (via) meaning "road for vehicles," from Latin carrus (wheeled vehicle). A noun denoting one's professional or occupational path.