sammensætninger

Sammensætninger is a Danish term that broadly denotes things that are assembled or put together from smaller parts. The word is used in several disciplines to describe entities formed by combining elements, components, or terms, and it can refer to both linguistic and scientific concepts as well as everyday usage.

In linguistics, sammensætninger refers to compound words formed by joining two or more free morphemes into a single lexical unit. Such compounds are typically written as one word, though some may be hyphenated. They can function as heads in phrases and often convey meanings that are not strictly predictable from their parts. Examples include solskin (sun + shine) and vindueskarm (window + frame). The study of sammensætninger covers their formation, semantics, and the rules that govern which words can combine and how.

In chemistry, sammensætninger denotes substances composed of two or more elements chemically bonded in definite ratios. These are chemical compounds, distinct from mixtures where the components retain their individual identities. Examples include vand (water, H2O) and natriumchlorid (sodium chloride, NaCl). The term also encompasses properties such as chemical formulas, molar masses, and characteristic reactions that help distinguish compounds from pure elements or mixtures.

In other contexts, sammensætninger can be used more generally to describe any assembled composition. In mathematics, the term may appear in reference to compositions (ordered partitions) of integers, though the more standard Danish term for that concept is kompositioner.