- The word 'oat' in 'My father loves soy, coconut and oat milks'.
I am wondering why the 'oat' is treated as a noun
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Not an exact duplicate question but it's covered in "Attributive Noun" vs " Compound Noun". – Stuart F Aug 24 '22 at 12:13
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"Oat" is a noun, and "oat milk" could be considered a compound noun. In particular it has the pronunciation of compouds (primary stress on "oat": British Eglish pronunciation) and it is found in several dictionaries, among which the OED, this latter one having recently made the addition.
(CoGEL) [produces/yields] bloodstain, cane sugar, food poisoning, sawdust, hay fever
oat milk: "The oat yields milk"
The mere juxtaposition and the meaning given to the group is what permits to tell it is a compound noun made up of two nouns (compound nouns have to be defined in dictionaries). But, that is not always sufficient: the etymology is sometimes needed; for instace, in "forearm" the part "fore" is not the noun but the prefix "fore-"; in the case of "glow-worm" you have to check the etymology to verify that "glow" is the noun "glow" and not the verb.
LPH
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Comments removed. If you disagree with an answer, write another one. – Andrew Leach Aug 23 '22 at 21:17
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@AndrewLeach I didn't disagree with my answer but with some criticism, which in fact reinforced my agreeing with this answer, and as well my explanation. These comments seemed to me to throw much light on the subject and deserved at most to be removed to chat. – LPH Aug 23 '22 at 21:36
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I apologise: my comment was not directed at you, but merely appended to your answer. Perhaps it should say "If anyone disagrees with an answer, write your own." – Andrew Leach Aug 23 '22 at 21:39
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@AndrewLeach I understand that, they should write their own answer, but we have a certain responsibility of criticizing and correcting others when it's possible. – LPH Aug 23 '22 at 21:49