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  1. bahuvrihi love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A compound word functioning as an adjective whose last element is in origin a noun. For example, in the phrase high-fiber diet, the compound high-fiber is a bahuvrihi modifying diet that ends in the noun fiber.

Wiktionary

  1. n. linguistics A type of nominal compound in which the first part modifies the second and neither part can be used alone while retaining the intended meaning. Examples include redcoat, bluestocking and lowlife.

Etymologies

  1. From Sanskrit बहुव्रीहि (bahú-vrīhi, "much rice"), itself a bahuvrihi from बहु (bahu, "much") and व्रीहि (vrīhi, "rice"), referring neither to much nor to rice, but to a person who has much rice, i.e. a rich man, one who has "much rice". (Wiktionary)
  2. Sanskrit bahuvrīhiḥ, having much rice (an example of the type) : bahu-, much + vrīhiḥ, rice. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Other details of Time's style, including strung-out attributive adjectives (bahuvrihi, to linguists), puns (paronomasia), and inverted word order (anastrophe) are also described in the Introduction, which one could only wish were more detailed.”

    Verbatim: VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XX No 1

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synonyms (1)

Words with the same meaning

  1. exocentric compound

reverse dictionary (1)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. bahuvrihi

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Comments

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  • sionnach A compound word, ending with a noun, that does not function as a noun of that sort.

    e.g. sabretooth, bigwig, lazybones

    I seem to remember that Steven Pinker talks about these in "Words and Rules", as they often have 'interesting' plurals.

    Suppose you are visited by Mr and Mrs Bigfoot. Who would you say came over - "the Bigfoots" or "the Bigfeet"? Nov 15, 2008

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‘bahuvrihi’ has been looked up 797 times, loved by 3 people, added to 8 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 20.