UNDERSTANDING BAHUVRIHI COMPOUNDS: A LOOK AT NON- COMPOSITIONAL MEANING

Bahuvrihi compounds, a class of exocentric constructions, present a persistent puzzle forlinguistic theory due to their non-compositional semantics. This article undertakes acomprehensive exploration of Bahuvrihi formation, delving into their semantic properties,syntactic behavior, and cross-linguistic variations. We meticulously examine how thesecompounds, seemingly defying the fundamental principle of compositionality, attributecharacteristics to implied entities, often employing figurative language to convey nuancedmeanings.