hundred-pound

The compound "hundred-pound" is a transparent numerical-unit construction native to English. "Hundred" originates from a Germanic counting system, where its second element "-red" meant "count," solidifying its meaning as a specific tally. "Pound" entered English via Latin, carrying the core concept of "weight," which expanded to include the monetary unit originally equivalent to a pound weight of silver. The compound logically fuses these elements, creating a precise descriptor for an object's specified weight or monetary value, demonstrating English's propensity for clear, combinatory adjective formation.

Structure: hundred (number) + pound (unit) hundred: From Old English hundrēd, a compound of hund (a hundred) and rēd (count, reckoning). Its ultimate origin is Proto-Germanic hundaradą, from the base hundą (hundred) and radą (count). It functions as a numerical quantifier. pound: From Old English pund, a measure of weight and later a unit of currency, borrowed from Latin pondō ("by weight"), itself from pondus ("weight"). It functions as the unit being quantified.