Compound (enclosure)


Compound when applied to a human habitat refers to a cluster of buildings in an enclosure, having a shared or associated purpose, such as the houses of an extended family. The enclosure may be a wall, a fence, a hedge or some other structure, or it may be formed by the buildings themselves, when they are built around an open area or joined together.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word compound in this sense is thought to be etymologically derived ultimately from the Malay word kampung or kampong, meaning 'enclosure' or 'village', probably entering English via Dutch or Portuguese.
In the United Kingdom, "compound" is not generally used in the sense of an unfortified enclosure, and not for homes. There, as in North American English, if used for a place, it is most likely to be taken to mean a fortified military compound. The unfortified enclosure usage was developed by the British Empire in Asia and Africa. Now it has slightly different meanings among English-speaking people in those continents: