Treating the combination as a single term.—In determining, in certain cases, between derived words and compound words, there is an occasional perplexity; the perplexity, however, is far greater in determining between a compound word and two words. In the eyes of one grammarian the term mountain height may be as truly a compound word as sunbeam. In the eyes of another grammarian it may be no compound word, but two words, just as Alpine height is two words; mountain being dealt with as an adjective. It is in the determination of this that the accent plays an important part. This fact was foreshadowed in the Chapter upon Accents.
[§ 415]. The attention of the reader is drawn to the following line, slightly altered, from Churchill:—
"Then rést, my friénd, and spáre thy précious bréath."
On each of the syllables rest, friend, spare, prec-, breath, there is an accent. Each of these syllables must be compared with the one that precedes it; rest with then, friend with my, and so on throughout the line. Compared with the word and, the word spare is not only accented, but the accent is conspicuous and prominent. There is so little on and, and so much on spare, that the disparity of accent is very manifest.
Now, if in the place of and, there was some other word, a word not so much accented as spare, but still more accented than and, this disparity would be diminished, and the accents of the two words might be said to be at par, or nearly so. As said before, the line was slightly altered from Churchill, the real reading being
Then rést, my friénd, spare, spare thy précious breath.—
In the true reading we actually find what had previously only been supposed. In the words spare, spare, the accents are nearly at par. Such the difference between accent at par and disparity of accent.
Good illustrations of the parity and disparity of accent may be drawn from certain names of places. Let there be such a sentence as the following: the lime house near the bridge north of the new port. Compare the parity of accent on the separate words lime and house, bridge and north, new and port, with the disparity of accent in the compound words Límehouse, Brídgenorth, and Néwport. The separate words beef steak, where the accent is nearly at par, compared with the compound word sweépstakes, where there is a great disparity of accent, are further illustrations of the same difference.
[§ 416]. The difference between a compound word and two words is greatest where the first is an adjective. This we see in comparing such terms as the following: bláck bírd, meaning a bird that is black, with bláckbird=the Latin merula; or blúe béll, meaning a bell that is blue, with blúebell, the flower.