The Chinese word **名词 (míngcí)**, meaning "noun," is a compound word formed through the logical combination of two meaningful characters: **名 (míng)**, which means "name" or "to name," and **词 (cí)**, which means "word" or "term." Literally translating to "name-word," it is a grammatical term created to denote the class of words that name people, places, things, and concepts, following the common Chinese practice of constructing precise terminology by combining existing characters to convey a new, specific concept.