An adjective made up of two or more elements, such as weather-beaten or shop-soiled, is called what?

• A. Compound adjective
• B. Elision
• C. Intrusion
• D. Linking words/devices

Answer: (A)

Two or more elements joined to modify a noun form a compound adjective. In weather-beaten and shop-soiled, the two words work together as one descriptor for the noun, and the hyphen helps signal that they form a single unit rather than modifying separately. This construction emphasizes a combined quality, like a wall that is weather-beaten or items that are shop-soiled. The other terms refer to different linguistic ideas: elision is the dropping of sounds or letters, intrusion is inserting elements within a word, and linking words/devices are connectors between words or clauses, not the creation of a multiword modifier.