The word "数百" (shù bǎi) is formed through a common Chinese morphological process where the character "数" (shù), meaning "several" or "a number of," is combined with the specific quantifier "百" (bǎi), meaning "hundred," to create a compound that denotes an approximate quantity, specifically "several hundred" or "hundreds of." This structure follows the pattern of using a vague numeral prefix ("数") with a precise unit ("百," "千," "万," etc.) to efficiently express an estimated figure within a specific order of magnitude, making it a concise and standard way to express numerical approximation in the language.