The point of it

The idea is to seek out compound word forms in an existing word list. For example, a word list might contain daredevil and dare and devil, or eyeglass and both eye and glass. This function processes the original list and identifies such cases where there's a match. It lists them in a text file or to a spreadsheet. Meaning is not considered: the only requirement is that each type consists of two other types found in the same word list.

 

... or more than two different pairings:

 

As you see, this is a purely mechanical process.

 

 

How to do it

With a word list loaded, choose Compute | Compounds.

Choose a minimum number of characters for each segment. In the list above each potential part of a compound had to have a minimum of 4 characters and frequency of 3.

WordSmith processes each word form which is long enough and frequent enough, seeking pairings with all other words in the same word list.

 

How the search works

It requires both parts of the potential compound to be at least two characters long and that the two parts together comprise the compound.

Three-part compounds like inasmuch will not get picked up but counterclockwise will if the list contains counter and clockwise, just as clockwise will be found if the list has both clock and wise.

 

See also: prefixes and suffixes.