COMPOUND, a combination of various elements to form a whole. A "chemical compound" is a substance which can be resolved into simple constituents, as opposed to an element which cannot be so resolved. (See CHEMISTRY.) A "compound engine" is one where the expansion of the steam is effected in two or more stages (see STEAM ENGINE) ; in zoology, the "compound eye" of insects and crustacea is made up of several ocelli or simple eyes (see EYE) ; in botany, the "compound leaf" has two or more separate blades on a common leaf-stalk; in surgery, in a "com pound fracture" the skin is broken as well as the bone. Compound interest is interest paid upon interest.
The verb "to compound" is used of the settlement of differences, and especially of an agreement made to pay part of a debt in dis charge of the whole (see BANKRUPTCY) ; similarly of the substi tution of one payment for periodic payments. In the system of "compounding" for rates the occupier of premises pays an in creased rent, and the owner is responsible for the payment of the rates. In law, to compound a felony is to agree with the felon not to prosecute him, in return for valuable consideration, or, in the case of a theft, on return of the goods stolen. Such an agreement is a misdemeanour punishable by fine and imprisonment.
The name "compounders" was given during the reign of Wil liam III. of England to the members of a Jacobite faction who were prepared to restore James II. to the throne on certain con ditions. Until 1853, in the University of Oxford, those possessing private incomes of a certain amount paid special dues for their degrees and were known as grand and petty compounders. The corruption "compound" (from the Malay kampung, a quarter of a village) is the name of the enclosed ground which surrounds an Anglo-Indian house.