long-married

The compound adjective 'long-married' is a transparent modern English formation. Its first element, 'long', descends from the Proto-Germanic langaz, carrying the core sense of extended duration. The second element, 'married', originates from the Latin marītus (husband), via Old French, and the -ed suffix marks it as a past participle describing a resultant state. The compound logically combines these elements to denote the specific condition of having been in the marital state for an extensive period, illustrating a straightforward descriptive pattern in English word formation.

Structure: long (duration) + married (state) - long: From Old English lang, long, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lang and German lang. Functions as an adjective/adverb meaning 'extensive in duration'. - married: From the verb marry, from Old French marier, from Latin marītāre, from marītus (husband). The suffix -ed forms a participial adjective indicating a state or condition.