3 syllables: com, pound, ing. Stress on pound.
kuhm-POWN-ding
/kəˈmpaʊndɪŋ/
compounding is pronounced kuhm-POWN-ding (/kəˈmpaʊndɪŋ/). It has three syllables (com-pound-ing), with the stress on "pound". Compounding refers to the process of forming a new word or term by combining two or more words or morphemes. In linguistics, it also describes the joining of material to form a compound or the act of growing or increasing through accumulation. This term can apply to finance (compound interest) or to general word formation, and is often used in expert or technical discourse.
Compounding refers to the process of forming a new word or term by combining two or more words or morphemes. In linguistics, it also describes the joining of material to form a compound or the act of growing or increasing through accumulation. This term can apply to finance (compound interest) or to general word formation, and is often used in expert or technical discourse.
"The compound word ‘lighthouse’ is formed from two independent words."
"In finance, compounding interest can significantly grow an investment over time."
"The linguist studied compounding in English to understand how meanings merge."
Pronounce as kəm-ˈpaʊn-dɪŋ, with primary stress on the second syllable. The vowels are a reduced first syllable /kə/ (schwa) and the stressed /aʊ/ similar to 'bough' or 'out'. The final -ing is /-ɪŋ/. Practicing slowly: kə-PAWN-ding, then natural flow with the /d/ linking into /ɪŋ/. An audio reference you can check is Cambridge or Forvo for the exact click of the /ˈpaʊn/ part.
Common errors: misplacing stress on the first syllable or making the second syllable monosyllabic by reducing /paʊn/ to /poʊn/. Another error is pronouncing /d/ too softly, leading to /ˈkəmˈpaʊnɪŋ/ or /kəmˈpaʊndɪŋ/ with weak /d/. Correction: keep primary stress on the second syllable: kəm-ˈpaʊn-dɪŋ; ensure the /d/ is audible before /ɪŋ/ and that /paʊ/ remains a diphthong with a clear offglide. Listen and mimic a native speaker to anchor rhythm.
US: /kəˈpaʊn.dɪŋ/ with clear /d/ and a pronounced /ˈpaʊn/. UK: similar but often a crisper /d/ and less vowel length; rhoticity is present in US/UK generally; AU tends to be flatter vowels and quicker tempo, with /ˈpaʊn/ slightly reduced in some rapid speech to /ˈpaʊn.dɪŋ/. Overall, the main difference is rhoticity and vowel quality; the syllable boundary is stable: com-POUND-ing.
The difficulty lies in the unstressed first syllable /kə/ blending smoothly into the stressed /ˈpaʊn/ and the voiced /d/ before the final /ɪŋ/. The /aʊ/ diphthong requires careful tongue shape to transition from /ə/ to /aʊ/ quickly. Additionally, differentiating /n/ from /d/ in rapid speech can be tricky; aim for a soft /n/ release before the /d/. Practicing with minimal pairs helps anchor the transitions.
A unique feature is the strong second syllable stress and the clear /d/ onset of the final syllable, which can cause a brief pause if spoken quickly. The /paʊn/ portion can take a tight jaw and rounded lips to cue the /aʊ/ diphthong; ensure the /dɪŋ/ part has a crisp /d/ with a final velar nasal /ŋ/. Use the mouth positions of /m/ to /p/ transition before the /aʊ/ to enforce correct plosive release.
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Compounding comes from Latin compōndiō, from com- 'together' + pōndō 'to place' (from pendere 'to weigh' in some senses). In Late Latin, compōndere meant 'to put together' or 'to compose', leading to French composer and English compounding. The word spread into English in the 14th century in general sense of 'the act of putting together' and later specialized senses in linguistics and finance. The noun form compounding, from the verb compound, first established in Middle English to describe the act of combining elements. In linguistics, compounding as a productive word-formation process was extensively analyzed from the 19th century onwards, with major discussions on structure (head-modifier relations), semantics (endocentric vs exocentric compounds), and productivity. In finance, the term became prominent in the 17th–18th centuries as arithmetic of interest could compound over time, and later mathematical treatments formalized compounding as a process where interest earns interest. The modern usage spans linguistics, finance, nature (compound materials), and pharmacology (compounded medications). First known use in English around the 14th century for the general act of placing together; specialized technical senses followed in later centuries.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "compounding" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "compounding"
-ing sounds
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