run-scoring

The compound 'run-scoring' is a modern sporting term that transparently combines two established English words. 'Run' has ancient Germanic origins related to swift movement, which in the context of bat-and-ball games became lexicalized as the primary unit of advancement and points. 'Score' derives from a Norse term for a notch or tally, evolving to mean the record of points in a game. The compound logic is direct: 'run' specifies what is being scored, and 'scoring' specifies the action, together creating an adjective that describes anything pertaining to the act of making runs in a sport.

Structure: run (to move swiftly) + scoring (gaining points) - run: From Old English rinnan, iernan (to flow, to run). A Germanic base word functioning as a noun in this compound, denoting the unit of score in games like cricket or baseball. - scoring: From Old English scoru (notch, tally, twenty), from Old Norse skor. The present participle/gerund form of the verb 'score', functioning here to indicate the action of gaining points.