The word "早点" is formed through a direct conceptual combination of its two component characters: "早" (zǎo), which means "early" or "morning", and "点" (diǎn), which in this context carries the meaning of "food" or "small item to eat" (a semantic extension from its core meaning of "dot" or "point"). The term is created by placing the time modifier "早" before the category "点" to specify a type of food, resulting in the combined meaning of "morning food" or "breakfast".