Compound Words

Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William), 1860-1Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.0

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Compound Words by Frederick W. HamiltonAuthor: Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William), 1860-1940,Language: English, Class: PE: Language and Literatures: English, Release Date: Jan 4, 2010

Editor's review

Compound Words is a short English-language booklet by Frederick W. Hamilton, reissued by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. Its purpose is clear: a systematic yet concise explanation of how English compound words are formed, spelled, and used. Unlike language books that aim for entertainment, this is closer to a practical style manual—clearly organized and deliberately brief, suited to being kept at hand for reference. For anyone who writes, edits, proofreads, or teaches English, its discussion of when compounds are written solid, hyphenated, or left open has direct practical value. Because it was written long ago, some example words and conventions bear the marks of their time; readers should check them against contemporary dictionaries and publishing conventions rather than treat them as absolute rules. Overall, it is a small book to consult and compare against when you have a specific question, not a leisurely read from cover to cover. For learners of English, it fills in word-formation details that grammar courses often pass over; for writers and editors, it offers a checkable framework for decisions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Editors and proofreaders who deal with English compound spelling and hyphenation
English majors and teachers seeking a systematic review of English word-formation rules
Professionals who write in English often and want to reduce compound-word errors
Language enthusiasts who collect or consult English usage manuals

Not a good fit for

Beginner learners looking for story-driven or entertaining English reading
People who do not write in English and only want to improve spoken communication
Readers expecting the latest contemporary spelling rules and unwilling to consult modern dictionaries

Reading tips

Don't read it cover to cover; skim the contents first and turn the rules into a quick self-check list to keep at hand.
While reading, keep a contemporary English dictionary nearby and note where the book's examples differ from current usage.
After each section, pick five compound words from your own writing and decide how to write them, to reinforce the rules.
Read it alongside a grammar or style manual so the references complement each other.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What aspects of English compound words does this book cover?

It mainly discusses how English compounds are formed and how their written form is chosen—solid, hyphenated, or open—with criteria and example words. It is a short prescriptive booklet focused on practical rules rather than theoretical linguistics, suited to looking up specific spelling questions.

Are the spelling rules in the book still valid today?

Many basic principles remain useful, but because the book was written long ago, some examples and specific treatments may differ from current publishing conventions. Treat it as supporting material for understanding the rules, and for actual writing rely on current authoritative dictionaries and your publisher's style guide.

Can readers with average English understand it?

The English is expository and the sentences are not complex, so readers at an intermediate level should largely follow it. The content concerns word formation and written conventions, however, and assumes some grasp of grammar; readers unfamiliar with parts of speech or word formation may need a basic grammar reference alongside.

Is this book meant to be read from start to finish?

It is closer to a reference book, explaining rules section by section; reading it straight through is tedious and hard to retain. A better approach is to skim the contents for the framework, then consult the sections for the error types you make most often and keep checking them against your actual writing.

Comments

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About the author

Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William), 1860-1 Author

Frederick W. Hamilton (1860–1) was an author whose writing centered on the conventions of written English and on typography. Public information about him is limited, and his life, nationality, and education cannot be reliably established; eight of his works are held in the collection. Judging from the surviving titles, he focused on the most basic and often overlooked details of writing and printing: the use of capitals, word study and English grammar, the division of words, punctuation, the uses of italic, abbreviations and signs, and compound words, along with Books Before Typography, a work touching on the prehistory of the book. These are for the most part concise, practical handbooks, clearly organized and concrete in their examples, addressed to students, printers, and general readers, and dealing with the fundamentals of English usage and typographic practice. Their subjects are small, yet they form part of the standardization of written language and the making of books, and they can still serve as references for early conventions of English usage and printing practice.