As in spelling, a few rules may be helpful; but, also as in spelling, only continuous reference to a dictionary or to a good list of compound words, will enable a writer to attain any degree of perfection in their use.
We believe there is only one fairly complete work on the subject, and that is by Mr. F. Horace Teall, who was a department editor of the Standard Dictionary, having in charge especially the matter of compound words. His work is entitled “English Compound Words and Phrases.”
We shall discuss only two illustrative examples; and they are selected for the purpose of emphasizing the importance of the subject, and the value of common sense in the application of principles governing the determination of the form words take to express different meanings.
Our first example may seem to be a somewhat commonplace one, but it may be a helpful illustration. It has been submitted to a large number of suitable persons as a test of the general knowledge extant on the subject among printers, proof-readers, teachers, and writers. The result revealed almost complete ignorance of the subject.
Which of the following forms is correct, and why?
131. (1) back bone, (2) back-bone, (3) backbone.
The three forms are correct, but each has a special meaning:
1. In the form “back bone,” the word “back” stands in the position of an adjective, and is to be interpreted as we interpret any adjective standing before a noun. If we know the meaning of a word thus used, and the meaning of the word it precedes, we know the meaning of the two words. “Back” here designates one of two or more bones in a row, say, lying on a table.
2. In “back-bone” we have an illustration of a process of the growth of language. Professor W. D. Whitney, the distinguished philologist, says that the composition of words out of independent elements, is more important than any other process in the development of language. The stage of development may determine the word’s form.
“Back-bone” means the bone of the back, or the spinal column. It is a type of a large class of hyphenated compounds which are merely elliptical inversions; in this case, the word is such an inversion of bone of the back.