hundred-odd

The word "hundred" has a deep Germanic lineage, tracing back to a Proto-Germanic compound meaning 'count of one hundred'. "Odd" entered English from Old Norse, originally denoting a triangle or a point, which evolved to signify something singular or not matched. The semantic shift to 'approximately' stems from the idea of an extra, unmatched unit beyond a round number. The compound "hundred-odd" thus logically combines a precise numerical base with a suffix indicating a slight, indefinite surplus, creating a standard expression for an approximate quantity slightly exceeding one hundred.

Structure: hundred (number) + odd (approximate) - hundred: From Old English hundrēd, of Germanic origin, meaning the number 100. Functions as the cardinal number base. - odd: From Old Norse oddi, meaning 'point, angle, triangle', later developing the sense of 'singular, unusual, left over'. In this compound, it functions as a suffix meaning 'approximately, a little more than'.