seven-person

The compound "seven-person" is a modern, transparent formation in English, combining the cardinal number "seven" with the noun "person." The number "seven" descends from the Proto-Indo-European root septḿ̥, a stable numeral that gave rise to its equivalents in numerous daughter languages, including Latin septem and Greek hepta. The word "person" has a more complex journey, originating from the Latin persona, which referred to a theatrical mask and, by extension, a role or character played, eventually broadening to signify an individual human being. The logic of the compound is purely descriptive, directly quantifying a group or the capacity of an object, such as a vehicle or team, with no metaphorical shift from the original meanings of its components.

Structure: seven (number) + person (individual) - seven: From Old English seofon, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeven and German sieben, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin septem and Greek hepta. Functions as a numerical quantifier. - person: From Old French persone, from Latin persona 'actor's mask, character in a play, person', perhaps originally from an Etruscan word. Functions as a noun denoting a human being.