A Dictionary of Cont..

comprehend 110
hearted, horn-rimmed, saber-toothed. Compounds
of this kind are usually hyphenated, on
the grounds that they are here being treated as
a single word. But if the first element is the comparative
or superlative form of an adjective, this
interpretation will not hold and the hyphen must
be omitted, as in kinder hearted, kindest hearted.
See adjectives as adverbs.
When the past participle of a verb is qualified
by a noun or by an adjective-like word, it too is
usually hyphenated, as in air-borne, new-born,
perhaps because these words are so much like
the ones just discussed. The adverb well is, often
treated as if it were an adjective and joined
to a past participle with a hyphen, as in well-
keot. well-guarded. The hyphens in these con-
.I -
structions serve no purposes but it is customary
to use them here. Adverbs ending in -/y are
not treated in this way. They are usually written
without the hyphen, as in newly born, nicely
kept.
4. Fractions and compound numerals such as
two-thirds and twenty-three are usually hyphenated.
There is no need for this hyphen either,
but it is customary to use one. When one of the
terms of a fraction is a compound number, the
hyphen which indicates a fraction is dropped,
as in two twenty-thirds, twenty-three thirtieths.
5. Compounds beginning with serf are often
hyphenated, as in self-control, self-service, selfsupport.
Some publishers, however, print these
as two words, as in self support.
6. When a suffix or prefix is added to an idea
that is expressed in two or more words, the
whole expression is joined by hyphens. The
result is awkward looking, but the expressions
themselves are awkward. Example: Christmastree-like,
an ex-college-professor.
7. A hyphen is also used whenever it is needed
to prevent ambiguity. This is an important
rule. But its application depends on what we
consider ambiguous.
Style books often list walking stick or dining
room as a type of word that requires a hyphen.
The -ing form of a verb may be a noun or it
may be an adjective. (See -ing.) We have a great
many compounds in English in which the first
element is an -ing noun, such as sleeping car,
drinking glass, landing field, fainting fits, the
boiling point. What is meant in compounds of
this sort is a stick for walking, a room for dining,
the point of boiling, and so on-as practically
everybody knows. But it is theoretically possible
to read these words as adjectives. Some editors
believe that a hyphen should be used here to
show that the first element is the noun and not
the adjective. That is, the hyphen warns the
reader not to suppose that the stick is walking or
the room eating dinner. Those with more confidence
in the reading public are likely to see no
need for this, and may even consider it an
affront.
It is hard to find examples of word combinations
that are really ambiguous, independent of
their position in a sentence. (For this, see temporary
compounds.) But since a silver box some-
times means a box made of silver, the wooden
box that holds the table silver should be called
a silver-box, in any context that is open to both
interpretations.
8. The preceding seven rules cover all the
“living” uses of the hyphen in America today.
But there are some words that have hyphens
merely because they always have had them. A
writer should be familiar with these, and should
write them with their hyphens, but they should
not be used as patterns for new expressions.
a. A few technical terms, that are properly
one word by special meaning and accent but are
not familiar to the general public, are written
with a hyphen for easier reading, such as lightyear,
east-southeast, and other complex points
of the compass.
b. Certain compounds that involve an apostrophe
are hyphenated when used in a figurative
sense, such as bird’s-eye, bull’s-eye, crow’s-feet,
mare’s-nest. Because of their special meaning
and their accent on the first element, these compounds
might be treated as single words, and
sometimes are, as in birdseye, crowsfeet.
c. There are a number of three-word phrases
that are always written with hyphens. These include
four-in-hand, man-of-war, coat-of-arms,
forget-me-not and the names of other flowers,
and the in-law relationships. Mother-in-law does
not need hyphens any more than delegate at
large, which does not have them, but it is always
written in this way because it always has
been.
d. The word great, too, is always hyphenated
in family relationships because it always has
been. But we now have two forms, great-aunt
and grandaunt, both of which mean exactly the
same thing.
e. Words built on a letter of the alphabet,
such as X-ray, and U-boat, are often hyphenated.
But there is no need for the hyphen here
and it is often omitted in scientific writing, as in
a Y incision and the B vitamin.
f. Some hyphens are simply mistakes. These
will appear in the best edited material, but usually
they are not copied and die off. Sometimes,
however, a mistake is copied so often that it becomes
the established practice, as has happened
in the case of court-martial and post-mortem.
On theoretical grounds, neither of these words
should have a hyphen. But both of them do now
have the hyphen.
comprehend. See apprehend; know.
comprehensible; comprehensive. Comprehensible
means capable of being understood (His books
are not comprehensible). Comprehensive means
inclusive, of a large scope or mental grasp (Zt
was a comprehensive scheme and included all
points of view).
A thing is comprehensible (or understandable)
by one’s self. It is made comprehensible
to others.
comprise; constitute; include. To comprise is to
include, contain, be composed of (The program
comprised twelve events). To constitute is to
compose or to form (Twelve events constitate