Bahuvrihi

A bahuvrihi compound (from Sanskrit: बहुव्रीहि, literally meaning 'much rice' or 'having much rice', but denoting a rich man) is a type of compound that denotes a referent by specifying a certain characteristic or quality the referent possesses. A bahuvrihi is exocentric, so that the compound is not a hyponym of its head. For instance, a sabretooth (smil-odon) is neither a sabre nor a tooth, but a feline with sabre-like teeth. A bahuvrihi compound (from Sanskrit: बहुव्रीहि, literally meaning 'much rice' or 'having much rice', but denoting a rich man) is a type of compound that denotes a referent by specifying a certain characteristic or quality the referent possesses. A bahuvrihi is exocentric, so that the compound is not a hyponym of its head. For instance, a sabretooth (smil-odon) is neither a sabre nor a tooth, but a feline with sabre-like teeth. In Sanskrit bahuvrihis, the last constituent is a noun—more strictly, a nominal stem—while the whole compound is an adjective. In Vedic Sanskrit the accent is regularly on the first member (tatpurusha rāja-pútra 'a king's son', but bahuvrihi rājá-putra 'having kings as sons', viz. rājá-putra-, m., 'father of kings', rājá-putrā-, f., 'mother of kings'), with the exception of a number of non-nominal prefixes such as the privative a; the word bahuvrīhí is itself likewise an exception to this rule. In English bahuvrihis can be identified and the last constituent is usually a noun, while the whole compound is a noun or an adjective. The accent is on the first constituent. English bahuvrihis often describe people using synecdoche: flatfoot, half-wit, highbrow, lowlife, redhead, tenderfoot, long-legs, and white-collar.