past-due

The compound adjective 'past-due' is a transparent combination of two common English words, 'past' and 'due', to create a specific financial and legal term. 'Past' originates from the Latin 'passus' (a step), evolving through Old English to signify a point in time that has been gone beyond. 'Due' comes from the Latin 'debitus', the past participle of 'debere' (to owe), entering English via Old French with the core sense of something owed. The logic of the compound is literal and chronological: a payment that has moved 'past' the point at which it was 'due' or owed. This straightforward morphemic construction efficiently conveys the concept of lateness in financial obligations, a meaning that emerged clearly in modern commercial and legal contexts.

Structure: past (beyond) + due (owed) past: From Middle English, from Old English, from Latin 'passus' (step, pace). In this compound, it functions as an adverb/adjective meaning 'beyond in time or place'. due: From Middle English, from Old French 'deu' (owed), from Latin 'debitus' (owed, due). In this compound, it functions as an adjective meaning 'owed or payable'.