Compound Nouns in English

We know that a noun is the name of any person, place, object, concept or idea. We also know the classifications as proper noun, common noun, possessive noun, singular noun, plural noun, abstract noun and collective noun. There are more nouns in the English Language than any other kind of words. Have you conversant with compound nouns? You might be. Compound nouns are simply formed by joining two simple nouns together. Now it is striking. You must remember this. It is the noun phrase wherein a noun modified by another attributive noun. Thus you are free to modify the noun ‘Male’ with another attributive noun ‘Nurse’ and identify the health staff without any ambiguity. (Wikipedia)
There are three forms of compound words (British Council):

Closed form, In this form you may combine two suitable nouns together and form a single word. Consider the examples for better understanding: Barmaid, Bathroom, Breakdown, Buttermilk, and Butterscotch

Hyphenated form, In this form you are free combine a suitable noun pair with a hyphen inserted in between each word. (Here hyphens separate words) Consider the examples: Air-brake, Baby-sitter, Daughter-in-law, Editor-in-chief, Master-at-arms, Over-the-counter, White-wash

Open form, In this form there is a need to leave a single space between suitable nouns. No need for hyphens. Consider the examples: Attorney general, Fish tank, Half sister, Post office, Real estate, and Middle class.

I just have given an overview of compound nouns and its conventional forms. Though we are able to identify these three forms, the reason, for adopting these forms to combine and create compound nouns, is not explained in any known reference sources i.e. dictionaries or grammar books. Regarding hyphenation there are no uniform practices prevail. Some prefer to insert a hyphen, example: full-moon and some other prefer to write simply with a space, full moon.
I have collected 150 compound nouns under the three different forms mentioned above from standard dictionaries. I have listed them out under each form as shown below:

1. Closed form (One word)


I have collected and listed out 55 closed form compound nouns from standard dictionaries.

1) Applesauce,
2) Barmaid
3) Barman
4) Bathroom
5) Bedroom
6) Blackboard
7) Breakdown
8) Breakwater
9) Browbeat
10) Butterfly
11) Buttermilk
12) Butterscotch
13) Chairperson
14) Childlike
15) Crosstown
16) Eyebrow
17) Fingerprint
18) Fisherman
19) Flashlight,
20) Football
21) Footbrake
22) Footprint
23) Grasshopper
24) Handbag
25) Handbill
26) Handkerchief
27) Hardware
28) Highway
29) Hyperactive
30) Hypothermia
31) Keyboard,
32) Lifelong
33) Makeup
34) Milkmaid
35) Newspaper
36) Notebook,
37) Output
38) Overhead
39) Redhead
40) Salesman
41) Sandbag
42) Sandpaper
43) Sandstone
44) Saucepan
45) Seafood
46) Seaman
47) Seaweed
48) Secondhand
49) Shoelace,
50) Softball
51) Software
52) Supermarket
53) Underhand
54) Watergate
55) Witchcraft

2. Hyphenated form

I have collected and listed out 37 hyphenated form compound nouns from standard dictionaries.

1) Air-tight
2) Air-brake
3) Air-chamber
4) Air-cushion-vehicle
5) Air-port
6) Arm-chair
7) Baby-sitter
8) Blue-green
9) Born-again
10) Boy-friend,
11) Brother-in-law
12) Daughter-in-law
13) Dining-table
14) Editor-in-chief,
15) Father-in-law
16) Fly-leaf
17) Fly-wheel
18) Freeze-dry
19) Great-grandfather
20) Hyper-acidity
21) Hypo-thyroid
22) Love-in
23) Mass-produced
24) Master-at-arms
25) Mother-in-law
26) Multi-storey
27) New year’s day
28) Over-ripe
29) Over-the-counter
30) Sister-in-law
31) Six-pack
32) Six-year-old
33) Sky-scraper
34) Sub-urban
35) Twelve-year-old
36) Wall-paper
37) White-wash

3. Open form (Two or more words)

I have collected and listed out 58 open form (two or more words) compound nouns from standard dictionaries.

1) Attorney general
2) Bath tub
3) Beauty saloon
4) Birth day
5) Birth name
6) Bottom line
7) Broad gauge
8) Capital letter
9) Castor oil
10) Christian name
11) Curriculum vitae
12) Desk top computer
13) Dish washer
14) Elementary school
15) Family name
16) First cousin
17) Fish tank
18) Fish tank
19) Full moon
20) Grey matter
21) Half sister
22) High school
23) Ice land
24) Independence day
25) Indoor game
26) Indoor plant
27) Intelligence quotient
28) Knitting needle
29) Lap top computer
30) Living room
31) Lower middle class
32) Maiden name
33) Male nurse
34) Meter gauge
35) Middle class
36) Mineral water
37) Office assistant
38) Office stationary
39) Outdoor game
40) Paper clip
41) Petrol gauge
42) Police officer
43) Pony tail
44) Post office
45) Real estate
46) Registry office
47) Rest room
48) Scotch whisky
49) Seat belt
50) Tea cup
51) Trade name
52) Under cut
53) Under dog
54) Under way
55) Under world
56) Upper middle class
57) Wedding day
58) Word processor

Source:

1) Airtech – Quizzes http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/quizzes/vm/m-cm.html
2) British Council – Learn English Central – Grammar – Compound Nouns http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-grammar-nouns-compound.htm
3) Edufind – Grammar – Noun
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/NOUNS4.cfm
4) ESL DESK Nouns – Grammar - Nouns
http://www.esldesk.com/grammar/nouns.htm
5) Grammar – CCC – Commnet – Grammar - Exercise in Compound Nouns and Modifiers http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/par_numberless_quiz.pl/compounds_quiz.htm
6) Quia - Compound Nouns http://www.quia.com/jg/553320list.html
7) Wikipedia - English compound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_compound

Association of Color with English Vocabulary

Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. The meanings of various colors have changed over the years.
BLACK
Black: Black is the color of authority and power.The term "black" is often used in the West to denote the race of people whose skin color ranges from light to darker shades of brown. In ancient China, black was the symbol of North and Water, one of the main five colors. In Japanese culture, kuro (black) is a symbol of nobility, age, and experience, as opposed to shiro (white), which symbolizes serfdom, youth, and naiveté. Black is a symbol of mourning and bereavement in Western societies, especially at funerals and memorial services.
Black body: In physics, a black body is a perfect absorber of light, but by a rule derived by Einstein it is also, when heated, the best emitter.
Black belt: Thus the black belt is a mark of achievement and seniority in many martial arts. These ranks are called dan.

Black bloc: Wearing black clothing is also sometimes an anarchist tactic during demonstrations, with a practical benefit of not attracting attention and making later identification of a subject difficult. This strategy is referred to as a black bloc.

Black box: A black box is any device whose internal workings are unknown or inexplicable.

Black flag: The plain black flag is explained in various ways, sometimes as an anti-flag or a non-flag.
Black frequently: Black frequently symbolizes ambiguity, secrecy, and the unknown.

Black hole: The term "black hole" is applied to collapsed stars. This term is metaphorical however, because few properties of black objects or black voids apply to black holes. However, light emitted within a black hole's event horizon cannot escape, hence a black hole cannot be directly observed.
Black light: Ultraviolet light is called "black light" because, unseen (per se), it causes many minerals and other substances to fluoresce.
Black magic: Black magic is a destructive or evil form of magic, often connected with death,Black market: The black market is used to denote the trade of illegal goods, or alternatively the illegal trade.
Black project: A black project is a secretive project, like Enigma Decryption, other classified military programs or operations, Narcotics, or police sting operations.Black robes: Lawyers and judges often wear black robes.
Black sheep: The black sheep of the family is the ne'er-do-well.
Black sky: Black sky refers to the appearance of space as one emerges from the Earth's atmosphere.
Blackmail: Blackmail is the act of threatening to reveal information about a person unless the threatened party fulfills certain demands.
BLUE
Blue: The blue is one of the most popular colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. Blue can also be cold and depressing.The English language commonly uses "blue" to refer to any colour from navy blue to cyan. The word itself is derived from the Old French word bleu. In the English language blue may refer to the feeling of sadness. Blue often represents the human emotion of sadness. e.g. "He was feeling blue".
Blue movie: An adult movie or one with significant sexual content can be referred to as a "blue movie"
Blue ribbon: In symbolism blue ribbon is a term used to describe something of high quality.
GREEN
Green: Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients.
The word green is closely related to the Old English verb growan, “to grow”. It is used to describe plants or the ocean.
Green (Emotion): Sometimes it can also describe someone who is inexperienced, jealous, or sick.
Green (Environment):Green is common in nature, especially in plants.

Green Movement: Recent political groups have taken on the color as symbol of environmental protection and social justice, and consider themselves part of the Green movement, some naming themselves Green parties. This has led to similar campaigns in advertising, as companies have sold green, or environmentally friendly, products.

Green (Religion): Green is considered the traditional color of Islam. For example, Islam venerates the color, as it expects paradise to be full of lush greenery.
Green Revolution: The Green Revolution of agriculture that led in some places to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. India began its own Green Revolution program of plant breeding, irrigation development, and financing of agrochemicals. M. S. Swaminathan, adviser to the Indian minister of agriculture played a key role in the revolution.
Green (Social): Green is also associated with regeneration, fertility and rebirth for its connections to nature.
Greenwashing: A company is greenwashing if they advertise positive environmental practices to cover up environmental destruction.
GREY
Grey: Grey symbolizes mediocrity, the background noise of society.
Grey Area: A concept that is in a Grey area is a concept about which one is unsure what category in which to place it.
Grey (Emotion): Grey is often synonymous with things that are dull and boring. Grey represents pessimism whereas its opposite, optimism, is represented by the color rose.
Grey goo: Grey goo is to a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all living matter on Earth
Grey matter: The substance that composes the brain is referred to as "grey matter", and so the color is associated with things intellectual.
Grey person: A "grey person" is someone who goes unnoticed (Parties).
Grey Hair: Aging hair is often perceived as being grey although it is actually white, because white hairs next to other colors look comparatively darker. Hence grey is associated with the elderly.
ORANGE
Orange: Orange (deep saffron.)in general represents Hinduism in the flags of India.
RED
Red: The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations.
The color red is associated with heat, energy and blood, and emotions that stir the blood, including anger, passion, and love. Fire is also strongly connected. associated with lust, passion, love, and beauty as well. Red is also used as a symbol of courage and sacrifice.
Red (Blood): Oxygenated blood is red due to the presence of oxygenated hemoglobin.
Red cross: International symbol for first aid, ambulance.Red flag : "Socialist" red was used as a color of European Revolutionaries, often in the form of the red flag.. During the 1950s when red was so strongly associated with communism.
Red-handed: Phrase "caught red-handed", meaning either caught in an act of crime or caught with the blood of murder still on one's hands.
Red-light districts: At one point, red was associated with prostitutes, or now, with brothels (red-light districts).
Red (Mythology): Satan is usually depicted as colored red and/or wearing a red costume in both iconography and popular culture.
Red (Night vision): Red light is used to preserve night vision in low-light or night-time situations, as the rod cells in the human eye aren't sensitive to red.
Red Planet: Mars is called the Red Planet.
Red (Signal): Red has seen widespread use as a danger signal, in stop signs, to warn people of extreme heat or flammability, and even to signal warnings in sports such as soccer.
Red (Symbol): The usage for animal color appears similar to that for red ochre, red hair and Red Indian.
WHITE
White: Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. Examples include classic "white" substances such as sugar, foam, pure sand or snow, cotton, clouds, and milk. White is commonly the color of snow and ice.
White elephant: A white elephant is a gift or possession that creates a burden or difficulty for the recipient.
White (Clothe): White is the clothing color of the physicians, surgeons, as well as cricketers.
White (Economics): White is often associated with Capitalism (as opposed to Communism).
White feather: To "show the white feather" is to display cowardice.
White flag: A white flag is an international sign of either surrender, or truce, that is, it is a sign of peaceful intent, typically at time of war.
White House: The White House is the residence of the President of the United States.
White magic: Healing or "good" paranormal magic is called White magic.
White noise: White noise, in acoustics, is a sibilant sound that is often a nuisance, although it can also be deliberately created for test purposes.
Whiteout: Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility is reduced and surface definition lost in snowy environments.
White paper: A white paper can be an authoritative report on a major issue, as by a team of experts; a government report outlining policy; or a short treatise whose purpose is to educate industry customers. It is called white paper because it was originally bound in white.
White Revolution: The White Revolution (Persian: Enghelab-e-Sephid) was a far-reaching series of reforms launched in 1963 by the last Shah of Iran. Verghese Kurien, chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(GCMMF), set up the Anand model of cooperative dairy development, engineered the White Revolution in India, and made India the largest milk producer in the world.
White ribbon: The white ribbon is worn by movements denouncing violence against women.
White Rose: The White Rose was a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany, consisting of five students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor.
White (Science): In the science of lighting, there is a continuum of colors of light that can be called "white". Stars of stellar class A are white.
White (Social): White often represents purity or innocence in Western Civilization. In Chinese, Japanese and Korean tradition, white is the color of mourning and death. In Indian tradition, white is also the color of death and ghosts, and also stands for Peace and Purity.
White Stick: White Stick as a symbol of blindness.
White Terror: This originated from Royalist rebellions against the French Revolution (see Revolt in the Vendée), known as the White terror.
Whitewash: Whitewash, figuratively, means an attempt to obscure the truth by issuing a blanket of lies.
YELLOW
Yellow: Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism. Yellow is associated with age and aging, both with people and objects (i.e. yellowed-paper).
Yellow cake: Yellowcake (also known as urania and uranic oxide) is concentrated uranium oxide, obtained through the milling of uranium ore.
Yellow Card: In Association football (soccer), the referee shows a yellow card to indicate that a player has been officially cautioned.
Yellow (Emotion): The term is associated at times with jealousy, as well as cowardliness.
Yellow emperor: The legendary first emperor of China was known as the Yellow Emperor.
Yellow-fever mosquito: A yellow-fever mosquito is a mosquito in the Aedes genus, so named because they transmit dengue fever and yellow fever, the mosquito-born viruses.
Yellow (Graphite): Pencils are often painted yellow, originally because of the association of this color with the orient, where the best graphite was found.Yellow (Jaundice): Yellow is associated with jaundice, since someone who has that disease turns yellow. yellow has traditionally been associated with jaundice and cowardice.
Yellow journalism: "Yellow journalism" was sensationalist journalism that distorts, exaggerates, or exploits news to maximize profit. Lastly, it is associated with sensational journalistic practices, or yellow journalism, and resistance to militant trade unions.

Yellow metal: Gold
Yellow Race: Asian people are sometimes referred to as the yellow race.
SOURCE:
WIKIPEDIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/)
Color Psychology: Do different colors affect your mood? http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html

How to improve your vocabulary

Strong Vocabulary Binds your Audience

Have you observed that speakers who have very strong vocabulary command respect from their clients and colleagues? You will agree that any speech should include strong vocabulary to emphasize your ideas seriously.
In our daily life we come across individuals who can talk very fluently, but the other day he may be stumbling. In a specific environment or with group of people the individual may be much more articulate than others.
Have you experienced your tongue-tied when you are commencing or holding your conversation with in a specific environment? Do you find that you are let down when you are confined with poor vocabulary? May be, you just need to improve your vocabulary skills.

Vocabulary: Your Authority

Language is a communication tool. English language is known for its rich vocabulary. The way you employ English vocabulary conveys your authority and expertise. In fact an engineer or a physician is recognized for his professional skills. Similarly computer hardware engineers or software developers are adored for their mastery in computers. A painter attains his name and fame due to his artistic talents.

Vocabulary and Communication Skills

What about your skill or ability to communicate in English or any language? A strong English vocabulary and communication skills go hand in hand. You will be ignored if your English language communication lacks vocabulary. Your poor vocabulary leads to lack of authority and acceptance.

Skill to Articulate your Vocabulary

It is absolutely unwarranted to speak in ostentatious language and use obscure words to confuse your audience. It is not that your command of your language or vocabulary knowledge will reach your audience. It is your skill in using English language in an artful manner will only reach your audience. It is the skill that most of the corporate houses seek from their prospective candidates while recruiting.

How to improve your vocabulary?

Increasing one's vocabulary is a lifelong process. There are number of ways to improve your vocabulary skills. Internet is a strong contender. There are number of blogs, Websites and portals who publish tutorials, quizzes, newsletters (‘Today English Word’) etc. They offer valuable tips and tricks on improving and enhancing your English Vocabulary.
To start with, you must make yourself exposed to various forms of reading. Of course you may be already reading lot of books and magazines. Now you honestly tell me whether you are paying close attention to the language? I mean to say that you are simple reading. Have you ever analyzed how sentences are constructed and how the vocabulary is used? If not followed this in earlier occasions, you must follow from now.

What is next? You are coming across an unknown word. Try to understand how the word is used in the sentence. Give a serious thinking about the word and sentence for a while. Now you consult a dictionary and understand its meaning precisely. Repeating this in the process of reading may be annoying. But this practice makes an active vocabulary builder.

Finally, after your reading prepare a list of new words you have come across. You may even categorize them in different subject categories i.e. computer, cookery, finance, government, science, sports, technology etc. Keep continuously quiz yourself. Also use these words while speaking and writing without fail.

Books to help you improve your English
1) Essential English Grammar by Murphy (Cambridge)
2) Spoken English by R K Bansal and J B Harrison
3) Pronounce It Perfectly In English (book and three audio cassettes) by Jean Yates, Barrons Educational Series
4) English Pronunciation For International Students by Paulette Wainless Dale, Lillian Poms