decompound

American  

[dee-kuhm-pound, dee-kom-pound, dee-kom-pound, -kuhm-] / ˌdi kəmˈpaʊnd, diˈkɒm paʊnd, ˌdi kɒmˈpaʊnd, -kəm- /

verb (used with object)

1. to decompose.

2. Obsolete. to compound a second or further time.

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adjective

1. Botany. divided into compound divisions.

2. composed of compounds compound the parts of which are also compounds, compound, as a bipinnate leaf.

decompound British  

/ ˌdiːkəmˈpaʊnd /

adjective

1. (of a compound leaf) having leaflets consisting of several distinct parts

2. made up of one or more compounds

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verb

1. a less common word for decompose

2. obsolete to mix with or form from one or more compounds

Other Word Forms

• undecompounded adjective

Etymology

Origin of decompound

First recorded in 1605–15; de- + compound ¹

Example Sentences

Having a forked petiole, and a pair of leaflets at the end of each division; biconjugate; twice paired; Ð said of a decompound leaf.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah

Leaves irregularly pinnately decompound, the rather small leaflets incised.—Centreville,

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

An introduced biennial, with spotted stems, and large decompound leaves.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

But if the division goes still further, or if the degree is variable, we simply say that the leaf is decompound; either palmately or pinnately decompound, as the case may be.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa

I find decompound for compound in Heylyn's Microcosmos, 1627, p. 249., thus:—"The English language is a decompound of Dutch, French, and Latin."

From Notes and Queries, Number 43, August 24, 1850 by Various

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