bahuvrihi

American  

[bah-hoo-vree-hee] / ˌbɑ huˈvri hi /

noun

bahuvrihis plural

1. Grammar. a compound noun or adjective consisting of two constituents, the first of which is adjectival and describes the person or object denoted by the second, which is nominal: the compound as a whole denotes or describes a person or object having what is denoted by the second element, as bonehead, heavy-handed, redcoat.

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bahuvrihi British  

/ ˌbɑːhuːˈvriːhiː /

noun

1. a class of compound words consisting of two elements the first of which is a specific feature of the second

2. a compound word of this type, such as hunchback , bluebell , highbrow

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• bahuvrihis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bahuvrihi

1840–50; < Sanskrit: literally, having much rice, equivalent to bahu- much + vrīhi rice; used to name the type of compound word of which it is an example