full-screen

The compound "full-screen" is a modern formation from two native English roots. "Full" descends from the Proto-Germanic fullaz, itself from the Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós ("full"), carrying the ancient sense of completeness. "Screen" entered English via Old French escren, with ultimate origins in a West Germanic word meaning a protective barrier. The logic of the compound is transparently literal: "full" modifies "screen" to denote an image or application that occupies the complete display area, extending to the edges. This term emerged with the advent of graphical user interfaces and digital media, where the action of maximizing a window became a common user interaction. It exemplifies how existing Germanic vocabulary is readily combined to create precise technical descriptors for new technological concepts.

Structure: full (complete) + screen (display surface) full: From Old English full, meaning "complete, entire, filled." It functions as an adjective modifying the noun to indicate totality. screen: From Middle English scren, meaning a protective partition or shield, later evolving to mean a surface for displaying images. It functions as the core noun being modified.