The compound 'stock-price' is a modern financial term built from two ancient roots. 'Stock' originates from the Old English 'stoc', meaning a tree trunk or post, a concrete object that metaphorically evolved to signify the core capital or fund of a business, akin to the sturdy trunk of a tree. 'Price' descends from Latin 'pretium', meaning value or reward, a concept central to commerce. The fusion of these morphemes follows a straightforward and logical compounding pattern in English, where 'stock' identifies the specific financial instrument and 'price' specifies its monetary valuation in the market, directly linking the foundational idea of capital ('stock') with its measurable worth ('price').

Structure: stock (supply, share) + price (value, cost) stock: From Old English 'stoc' (tree trunk, post, stump), later developing meanings related to a supply of goods, lineage, and financial capital. In this compound, it functions as the head noun specifying the type of asset. price: From Old French 'pris', from Latin 'pretium' (value, reward, price). In this compound, it functions as the modifying noun indicating the attribute (cost/value) of the stock.