six-person

The compound adjective 'six-person' is a modern English formation following a straightforward Germanic pattern of number-noun compounding. The first element, 'six', descends from the Proto-Indo-European numeral swéḱs, which evolved into the common Germanic form seen in Old English 'siex'. The second element, 'person', has a more complex journey, originating from the Latin 'persona', which referred to a theatrical mask and, by extension, a role or character, before broadening to mean an individual human. The compound logically combines these elements to specify a quantity—six—of the fundamental unit—a person—creating a term used to describe capacity, accommodation, or group size.

Structure: six (number) + person (individual) - six: From Old English 'siex', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'zes' and German 'sechs', from an Indo-European root shared by Latin 'sex' and Greek 'hex'. Functions as a numerical quantifier. - person: From Old French 'persone', from Latin 'persona' 'actor's mask, character in a play', later 'human being'. Functions as the noun being quantified.