bahuvrihis
/bɑːhuːˈvriːhiz/
noun
- A type of compound word that describes a person or thing by referring to a characteristic feature, such as 'redhead' meaning a person with red hair.
- In linguistics class, we studied bahuvrihis like 'paleface' and 'longlegs'.
- Bahuvrihis are also called possessive compounds because they indicate possession of a feature.
- The word 'bluebird' is not a bahuvrihi because it names a type of bird, not a thing with a blue bird.