person-hour

The term 'person-hour' is a modern compound noun, a product of industrial and economic management in the 20th century. It is formed by directly combining two common English nouns: 'person', which traces back to the Latin 'persona' originally denoting a theatrical mask and later the character or individual behind it, and 'hour', from the Greek 'hōra' meaning a fixed period or season. The logic of the compound is purely mathematical and functional, quantifying labor by multiplying the number of workers by the time they spend. This creates an abstract unit for planning, costing, and measuring productivity, where the literal meanings of 'individual' and 'time unit' combine to form a standardized metric of work input.

Structure: person (individual) + hour (unit of time) - person: From Latin 'persona' (actor's mask, character, person). In this compound, it functions as a noun meaning an individual human being. - hour: From Old French 'hore', from Latin 'hora', from Greek 'hōra' (season, hour). In this compound, it functions as a noun meaning a unit of time.