Word for combining two words into one

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words^[1] in which parts of multiple words are combined into a new word,^[1][2][3] as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog,^[2][4] or motel, from motor and hotel.^[5] In linguistics, a portmanteau is a single morph that is analyzed as representing two (or more) underlying morphemes.^[6][7][8][9] When portmanteaus shorten established compounds, they can be considered clipped compounds.^[10]

A portmanteau word is similar to a contraction, but contractions are formed from words that would otherwise appear together in sequence, such as do and not to make don’t, whereas a portmanteau is formed by combining two or more existing words that all relate to a single concept. A portmanteau also differs from a compound, which does not involve the truncation of parts of the stems of the blended words. For instance, starfish is a compound, not a portmanteau, of star and fish, as it includes both words in full. If it were called a «stish» or a «starsh», it would be a portmanteau.

Origin[edit]

The word portmanteau was introduced in this sense by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871),^[11] where Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the coinage of unusual words used in «Jabberwocky».^[12] Slithy means «slimy and lithe» and mimsy means «miserable and flimsy». Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the practice of combining words in various ways, comparing it to the then-common type of luggage, which opens into two equal parts:

You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.

In his introduction to his 1876 poem The Hunting of the Snark, Carroll again uses portmanteau when discussing lexical selection:^[12]

Humpty Dumpty’s theory, of two meanings packed into one word like a portmanteau, seems to me the right explanation for all. For instance, take the two words «fuming» and «furious». Make up your mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will say first … if you have the rarest of gifts, a perfectly balanced mind, you will say «frumious».

In then-contemporary English, a portmanteau was a suitcase that opened into two equal sections. According to the OED Online, a portmanteau is a «case or bag for carrying clothing and other belongings when travelling; (originally) one of a form suitable for carrying on horseback; (now esp.) one in the form of a stiff leather case hinged at the back to open into two equal parts».^[13] According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (AHD), the etymology of the word is the French porte-manteau, from porter, «to carry», and manteau, «cloak» (from Old French mantel, from Latin mantellum).^[14] According to the OED Online, the etymology of the word is the «officer who carries the mantle of a person in a high position (1507 in Middle French), case or bag for carrying clothing (1547), clothes rack (1640)».^[13] In modern French, a porte-manteau is a clothes valet, a coat-tree or similar article of furniture for hanging up jackets, hats, umbrellas and the like.^[15][16][17]

An occasional synonym for «portmanteau word» is frankenword, an autological word exemplifying the phenomenon it describes, blending «Frankenstein» and «word».^[18]

Examples in English[edit]

Many neologisms are examples of blends, but many blends have become part of the lexicon.^[12] In Punch in 1896, the word brunch (breakfast + lunch) was introduced as a «portmanteau word».^[19] In 1964, the newly independent African republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar chose the portmanteau word Tanzania as its name. Similarly Eurasia is a portmanteau of Europe and Asia.

Some city names are portmanteaus of the border regions they straddle: Texarkana spreads across the Texas-Arkansas-Louisiana border, while Calexico and Mexicali are respectively the American and Mexican sides of a single conurbation. A scientific example is a liger, which is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger (a tigon is a similar cross in which the male is a tiger).

Many company or brand names are portmanteaus, including Microsoft, a portmanteau of microcomputer and software; the cheese Cambozola combines a similar rind to Camembert with the same mould used to make Gorgonzola; passenger rail company Amtrak, a portmanteau of America and track; Velcro, a portmanteau of the French velours (velvet) and crochet (hook); Verizon, a portmanteau of veritas (Latin for truth) and horizon; and ComEd (a Chicago-area electric utility company), a portmanteau of Commonwealth and Edison.

Jeoportmanteau! is a recurring category on the American television quiz show Jeopardy! The category’s name is itself a portmanteau of the words Jeopardy and portmanteau. Responses in the category are portmanteaus constructed by fitting two words together.

Portmanteau words may be produced by joining proper nouns with common nouns, such as «gerrymandering», which refers to the scheme of Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry for politically contrived redistricting; the perimeter of one of the districts thereby created resembled a very curvy salamander in outline. The term gerrymander has itself contributed to portmanteau terms bjelkemander and playmander.

Oxbridge is a common portmanteau for the UK’s two oldest universities, those of Oxford and Cambridge. In 2016, Britain’s planned exit from the European Union became known as «Brexit».

The word refudiate was famously used by Sarah Palin when she misspoke, conflating the words refute and repudiate. Though the word was a gaffe, it was recognized as the New Oxford American Dictionary‘s «Word of the Year» in 2010.^[20]

The business lexicon includes words like «advertainment» (advertising as entertainment), «advertorial» (a blurred distinction between advertising and editorial), «infotainment» (information about entertainment or itself intended to entertain by its manner of presentation), and «infomercial» (informational commercial).

Company and product names may also use portmanteau words: examples include Timex (a portmanteau of Time [referring to Time magazine] and Kleenex),^[21] Renault’s Twingo (a combination of twist, swing and tango),^[22] and Garmin (portmanteau of company founders’ first names Gary Burrell and Min Kao). «Desilu Productions» was a Los Angeles–based company jointly owned by actor couple Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Miramax is the combination of the first names of the parents of the Weinstein brothers.

Name-meshing[edit]

Two proper names can also be used in creating a portmanteau word in reference to the partnership between people, especially in cases where both persons are well-known, or sometimes to produce epithets such as «Billary» (referring to former United States president Bill Clinton and his wife, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton). In this example of recent American political history, the purpose for blending is not so much to combine the meanings of the source words but «to suggest a resemblance of one named person to the other»; the effect is often derogatory, as linguist Benjamin Zimmer states.^[23] For instance, Putler is used by critics of Vladimir Putin, merging his name with Adolf Hitler. By contrast, the public, including the media, use portmanteaus to refer to their favorite pairings as a way to «…giv[e] people an essence of who they are within the same name.»^[24] This is particularly seen in cases of fictional and real-life «supercouples». An early known example, Bennifer, referred to film stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Other examples include Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and TomKat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes).^[24] On Wednesday, 28 June 2017, The New York Times crossword included the quip, «How I wish Natalie Portman dated Jacques Cousteau, so I could call them ‘Portmanteau'».^[25]

Holidays are another example, as in Thanksgivukkah, a portmanteau neologism given to the convergence of the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Thursday, 28 November 2013.^[26][27] Chrismukkah is another pop-culture portmanteau neologism popularized by the TV drama The O.C., merging of the holidays of Christianity’s Christmas and Judaism’s Hanukkah.

In the Disney film Big Hero 6, the film is situated in a fictitious city called «San Fransokyo», which is a portmanteau of two real locations, San Francisco and Tokyo.^[28]

Other languages[edit]

Modern Hebrew[edit]

Modern Hebrew abounds with blending. Along with CD, or simply דיסק (disk), Hebrew has the blend תקליטור (taklitór), which consists of תקליט (taklít, ‘phonograph record’) and אור (or, ‘light’). Other blends in Hebrew include the following:^[29]

• ערפיח (arpíakh, ‘smog’), from ערפל (arafél, ‘fog’) and פיח (píakh, ‘soot’)
• מדרחוב (midrakhov, ‘pedestrian-only street’), from מדרכה (midrakhá, ‘sidewalk’) and רחוב (rekhóv, ‘street’)
• מחזמר (makhazémer, ‘musical’), from מחזה (makhazé, ‘theatre play’) and זמר (zémer, ‘singing’ [gerund])
• מגדלור (migdalór, ‘lighthouse’), from מגדל (migdál, ‘tower’) and אור (or, ‘light’)
• קרנף (karnáf, ‘rhinoceros’), from קרן (kéren, ‘horn’) and אף (af, ‘nose’)
• רמזור (ramzór, ‘traffic light’), from רמז (rémez, ‘indication’) and אור (or, ‘light’)
• חוטיני (khutíni, ‘thong bikini’), from חוט‎ (khut, ‘string’) and ביקיני (bikíni, ‘bikini’)

Sometimes the root of the second word is truncated, giving rise to a blend that resembles an acrostic:

• תפוז (tapúz, ‘orange’ (fruit)), from תפוח (tapúakh, ‘apple’) and זהב (zaháv, ‘gold’)
• תפוד (tapúd, ‘potato’), from תפוח (tapúakh, ‘apple’) and אדמה (adamá, ‘soil’ or ‘earth’), but the full תפוח אדמה (tapúakh adamá, ‘apple of the soil’ or ‘apple of the earth’) is more common

Irish[edit]

A few portmanteaus are in use in modern Irish, for example:

• Brexit is referred to as Breatimeacht (from Breatain, «Britain», and imeacht, «leave») or Sasamach (from Sasana, «England», and amach, «out»)^[30][31]
• The resignation of Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Frances Fitzgerald was referred to as Slánaiste (from slán, «goodbye» and Tánaiste)^{[32][33][failed verification]}
• Naíonra, an Irish-language preschool (from naíonán, «infants», and gasra, «band»)^[34]
• The Irish translation of A Game of Thrones refers to Winterfell castle as Gheimhsceirde (from gheimhridh, «winter», and sceird, «exposed to winds»)^[35]
• Jailtacht (from English jail and Gaeltacht, «Irish-speaking region»): the community of Irish-speaking republican prisoners.^[36]

Icelandic[edit]

There is a tradition of linguistic purism in Icelandic, and neologisms are frequently created from pre-existing words. For example, tölva ‘computer’ is a portmanteau of tala ‘digit, number’ and völva ‘oracle, seeress’.^[37]

Indonesian[edit]

In Indonesian, portmanteaus and acronyms are very common in both formal and informal usage.

Malaysian[edit]

In the Malaysian national language of Bahasa Melayu, the word jadong was constructed out of three Malay words for evil (jahat), stupid (bodoh) and arrogant (sombong) to be used on the worst kinds of community and religious leaders who mislead naive, submissive and powerless folk under their thrall.^{[citation needed]}

Japanese[edit]

A very common type of portmanteau in Japanese forms one word from the beginnings of two others (that is, from two back-clippings).^[38] The portion of each input word retained is usually two morae, which is tantamount to one kanji in most words written in kanji.

The inputs to the process can be native words, Sino-Japanese words, gairaigo (later borrowings), or combinations thereof. A Sino-Japanese example is the name 東大 (Tōdai) for the University of Tokyo, in full 東京大学 (Tōkyō daigaku). With borrowings, typical results are words such as パソコン (pasokon), meaning personal computer (PC), which despite being formed of English elements does not exist in English; it is a uniquely Japanese contraction of the English personal computer (パーソナル・コンピュータ, pāsonaru konpyūta). Another example, Pokémon (ポケモン), is a contracted form of the English words pocket (ポケット, poketto) and monsters (モンスター, monsutā).^[39] A famous example of a blend with mixed sources is karaoke (カラオケ, karaoke), blending the Japanese word for empty (空, kara) and the Greek word orchestra (オーケストラ, ōkesutora). The Japanese fad of egg-shaped keychain pet toys from the 1990s, Tamagotchi, is a portmanteau combining the two Japanese words tamago (たまご), which means «egg», and uotchi (ウオッチ) «watch». The portmanteau can also be seen as a combination of tamago (たまご), «egg», and tomodachi (友だち), which means «friend».

Some titles also are portmanteaus, such as Hetalia (ヘタリア). It came from Hetare (ヘタレ), which means «idiot», and Italia (イタリア) which means Italy. Another example is Servamp,
which came from the English words Servant (サーヴァント) and Vampire (ヴァンパイア).

Portuguese[edit]

In Brazilian Portuguese, portmanteaus are usually slang, including:

• Cantriz, from cantora (female singer) and atriz (actress), which defines women that both sing and act.^[40][41]
• Aborrescente, from aborrecer (annoy) and adolescente (teenager), which is a pejorative term for teenagers.^[42][43]
• Pescotapa, from pescoço (neck) and tapa (slap), which defines a slap on the back of the neck.^[44][45]

In European Portuguese, portmanteaus are also used. Some of them include:

• Telemóvel, which means mobile phone, comes from telefone (telephone) and móvel (mobile).^[46]
• Cantautor, which means Singer-songwriter, and comes from cantor (singer) and autor (songwriter).

Spanish[edit]

Although traditionally uncommon in Spanish, portmanteaus are increasingly finding their way into the language, mainly for marketing and commercial purposes. Examples in Mexican Spanish include cafebrería from combining cafetería «coffee shop» and librería «bookstore», or teletón ‘telethon’ from combining televisión and maratón. Portmanteaus are also frequently used to make commercial brands, such as «chocolleta» from «chocolate» + «galleta.» They are also often used to create business company names, especially for small, family-owned businesses, where owners’ names are combined to create a unique name (such as Rocar, from «Roberto» + «Carlos», or Mafer, from «María» + «Fernanda»). These usages are helpful for registering of a distinguishable trademark.

Other examples:

• Cantautor, which means Singer-songwriter, and comes from cantante (singer) and autor (songwriter).^[47]
• Mecatrónica^{[citation needed]} and Ofimática two Neologisms that are blends of mecánica (mechanical) with electrónica (electronics), and oficina (office) with informática (informatics) respectively.
• Espanglish, interlanguage that combines words from both Spanish (Español) and English.
• Metrobús, blend of metro (subway) and autobús.
• Autopista, blend of automóvil (car) and pista (highway).
• Company names and brands with portmanteaus are common in Spanish. Some examples of Spanish portmanteaus for Mexican companies include: The Mexican flag carrier Aeroméxico, (Aerovías de México), Banorte (Bank and North), Cemex (Cement and Mexico), Jumex (Jugos Mexicanos or Mexican Juice), Mabe (from founders Egon MAbardi and Francisco BErrondo), Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos or Mexican Oil), Softtek (portmanteau and stylization of Software and technology), and Telmex (Teléfonos de Mexico). Gamesa (Galletera Mexicana, S.A. or Mexican Biscuit Company, Inc.) and Famsa (fabricantes Muebleros, S.A.) are examples of portmanteaus of four words, including the «S.A.» (Sociedad Anónima).
• Many more portmanteaus in Spanish come from Anglicisms, which are words borrowed from English, like módem, transistor, códec, email, internet or emoticon.

A somewhat popular example in Spain is the word gallifante,^[48] a portmanteau of gallo y elefante (cockerel and elephant). It was the prize on the Spanish version of the children TV show Child’s Play (Spanish: Juego de niños) that ran on the public television channel La 1 of Televisión Española (TVE) from 1988 to 1992.^[49]

Portmanteau morph[edit]

In linguistics, a blend is an amalgamation or fusion of independent lexemes, while a portmanteau or portmanteau morph is a single morph that is analyzed as representing two (or more) underlying morphemes.^[6] For example, in the Latin word animalis, the ending -is is a portmanteau morph because it is used for two morphemes: the singular number and the genitive case.^{[citation needed]} In English, two separate morphs are used: of an animal. Other examples include French: à le → au [o] and de le → du [dy].^[6]

See also[edit]

• Amalgamation (names)
• Hybrid word
• List of geographic portmanteaus
• List of portmanteaus
• Portmanteau sentence
• Syllabic abbreviation
• Pidgin

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Here are example combined words: Longwise + Show

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Combine any word or name with other words to make brand new words!

Tip: See my list of the Most Common Mistakes in English. It will teach you how to avoid mis­takes with com­mas, pre­pos­i­tions, ir­reg­u­lar verbs, and much more.

English speakers are very creative when it comes to making up new words by combining parts of words that already exist. For example, most people know that “brunch” is a combination of “breakfast” and “lunch”, but did you know that “smog” comes from “smoke” and “fog”?

There are lots and lots of such words in English, many more than in other European languages. One of the reasons for that is, of course, that English has many more speakers than other European languages (with the exception of Spanish), so there are more people who can potentially create a catchy new word.

Nevertheless, I believe that the main reason is much more pragmatic. English is a fairly analytic language, which in linguistic jargon refers to a language that, simply put, conveys the function of a word using word order and things like prepositions rather than endings and prefixes. Words in English are thought of as isolated units, whereas words in other European languages often carry additional information, and it is much easier to merge two isolated units than to merge two words carrying a lot of additional information, some of which would inevitably be lost during merging.

But enough of that theoretical nonsense. Let’s take a look at actual examples of such words in English.

English portmanteaus

A portmanteau is a type of blend word in which the beginning of one word is combined with the final part of another word. For example, it may surprise you that the word “bit” used in computing (as in “megabit”) is a portmanteau of ”binary” and “digit” (its development was probably influenced by the fact that “bit” already was an English word meaning a small amount of something). Sometimes the two parts may overlap, e.g. “smash”, which is composed of “smack” and “mash” with “ma” connecting the two parts.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common portmanteaus in English that are more or less accepted (note that the list excludes brand and product names, which are often based on a portmanteau):

alphanumeric = alphabetic + numeric
advertorial = advertisement +‎ editorial
bit = binary + digit (only in computing)
brainiac = brain + maniac
breathalyzer = breath + analyzer
Brexit = Britain + exit
brunch = breakfast + lunch
camcorder = camera + recorder
dumbfound = dumb (mute) + confound
electrocute = electro- + execute
email = electronic + mail
emoticon = emotion + icon
endorphin = endogenous + morphine
fanzine = fan + magazine
forex = foreign + exchange
guesstimate = guess + estimate
infomercial = information + commercial
keytar = keyboard + guitar
labradoodle = labrador + poodle
mechatronics = mechanics +‎ electronics
metrosexual = metropolitan +‎ heterosexual
moped = motor + pedals (borrowed from Swedish)
motel = motor + hotel
napalm = naphthenic + palmitic
Oxbridge = Oxford + Cambridge (used in the UK to refer collectively to the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge)
newscast = news + broadcast
paratrooper = parachute + troop + -er
phablet = phone + tablet
pulsar = pulsating + star
sexting = sex + texting
sheeple = sheep + people
smash = smack +‎ mash
smog = smoke + fog
Spanglish = Spanish + English
televangelist = television + evangelist
transistor = transconductance or transfer + resistor
vlog = video + blog (itself a shortening of web + log)
vitamin = vital + amine (introduced by a Polish biochemist when it was thought that all vitamins contained an amino acid)
webinar = web + seminar
workaholic = work + -a- + alcoholic

There is also an archaic word “cameleopard”, composed of “camel” and “leopard”, which means “giraffe”. If you are interested in the history of that word (and of the word “giraffe”), you can read my article about them.

Blend words combining the beginnings of two words

Another type of blend words, which are less common than portmanteaus in English, is formed by taking the first part of one word, the first part of another word, and merging them into one word. Here are the most common such words:

Amerind = American + Indian (referring to native Americans)
botox = botulism + toxin
cyborg = cybernetic + organism
cosplay = costume + play
hazmat = hazardeous + mataterial
modem = modulator + demodulator
sitcom = situation + comedy

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A portmanteau is a word that is formed by combining two different terms to create a new entity. Through blending the sounds and meanings of two existing words, a portmanteau creates a new expression that is a linguistic blend of the two individual terms.

For example breathalyzer is the portmanteau word formed from combining breath and analyzer, while blog is derived from the source words web and log.

The Origin of the Word Portmanteau

The term portmanteau was first used by Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass:

“Well, ‘slithy’ means “lithe and slimy” and ‘mimsy’ is “flimsy and miserable”. You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.”

Interestingly, the word portmanteau itself is also a blend of two different words: porter (to carry) and manteau (a cloak).

Portmanteau words are extremely popular in modern-day English and new word combinations are regularly popping up. Below you will find 86 examples of portmanteau.

If you like this, take a look at our list of words you shouldn’t use in an essay.

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86 Examples of Portmanteau and Their Definitions

1. administrivia (administrative/trivia): Dull administration activities that must be completed.
2. affluenza (affluence/influenza): The guilt or lack of motivation experienced by people who have made or inherited large amounts of money.
3. anacronym (anachronism/acronym): An acronym that is derived from a phrase that is no longer in wide usage (for example, radar).
4. animatronic (animate/electronics): Robots that are constructed to look like animals.
5. anticipointment (anticipation/disappointment): The feeling of letdown one experiences when hype gives way to reality.
6. bionic (biology/electronic): Artificial body parts that have been enhanced by technology.
7. bodacious (bold/audacious): Insolent or unrestrained, extraordinary or impressively large.
8. Bollywood (Bombay/Hollywood): The Indian movie industry.
9. Brangelina (Brad/Angelina): Word used to describe the celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
10. bromance (brother/romance): A close relationship between two men.
11. brunch (breakfast + lunch): A meal that is eaten after breakfast but before lunch.
12. carjack (car/hijack): To take someone’s car by force.
13. celebutant(e) (celebrity/debutant(e)): Someone who is famous for being famous but who has no apparent talent.
14. chillax (chill/relax): Calm down, rest.
15. Chinglish (Chinese/English): A variation of the English language as spoken by people of Chinese descent.
16. chocoholic (chocolate + alcoholic): Someone who eats excessive amounts of chocolate.
17. chortle (chuckle/snort): Laugh in a breathy, gleeful way.
18. Chunnel (channel/tunnel): Word used to describe the Channel Tunnel that runs between the UK and France.
19. cineplex (cinema/complex): A movie theatre with several screens.
20. Cocacolonization (Coca-Cola/colonization): The aggressive introduction or pervasive influence of American consumerism on other cultures.
21. cosplay (costume + play): Dressing up in costumes that resemble characters from popular culture.
22. craptacular (crap/spectacular): Entertainment that is so poor in quality it captivating.
23. crunk (crazy/drunk): Out of control after consuming alcohol.
24. cyborg (cybernetic/organism): A human or fictional entity whose physiological functioning is enhanced by mechanical elements.
25. docusoap (documentary/soap opera): A hybrid drama that follows the lives of real people over a given period of time.
26. dumbfound (dumb/confound): Greatly astonish or amaze.
27. ebonics (ebony/phonics): A distinct form of English that is spoken by people of African descent.
28. edutainment (education/entertainment): Games or other forms of entertainment that have an educational aspect.
29. electrocution (electricity/execution): Death by electricity.
30. emoticon (emotion/icon): The use of keyboard characters to represent a facial expression.
31. evailable (electronic/available): To be available online via an electronic method such as email.
32. faction (fact + fiction): A story, speech or novel that contains historical and real-life facts combined with invented information.
33. fanzine (fan/magazine): A magazine that is targeted at fans of a specific genre.
34. feminazi (feminist/Nazi): An extreme feminist.
35. flare (flame/glare): A sudden brief burst of bright flame or light.
36. flexitarian (vegetarian/flexible): A vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.
37. frankenfood (Frankenstein/food): Genetically modified food.
38. frenemy (friend/enemy): Someone who is supposed to be a friend but whose actions are more characteristic of a foe.
39. gaydar (gay/radar): The ability to identify whether a person is homosexual based on an observation of their appearance and/or behavior.
40. geocaching (geography + caching): A modern-day treasure hunt in which participants use a GPS to hide and seek containers.
41. ginormous (giant/enormous): Large, huge.
42. glamping (glamour/camping): Luxury camping.
43. glitz (glamour/Ritz): Extravagant yet superficial.
44. guesstimate (guess + estimate): To estimate without solid facts or figures.
45. infomercial (information/commercial): A television program that promotes a product in an informative and supposedly objective way.
46. infotainment (information + entertainment): Forms of popular media that blend information and entertainment together. Similar to edutainment (education + entertainment).
47. interrobang (interrogative/bang): A combination of a question mark and an exclamation point.
48. irregardless (irrespective/regardless).
49. internet (international/network): A global system of interconnected computer networks. You can access our proofreading service via the Internet.
50. shero (she/hero): A woman admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
51. jackalope (jackrabbit/antelope): An antlered species of rabbit (mythical).
52. knowledgebase (knowledge/database): Intellectual capital that is stored in a central area. Similar to wisdombase (wisdom/database).
53. liger (lion/tiger): A crossbreed between a lion and a tiger.
54. malware (malicious/software): Computer programs that are designed to damage or disable computer systems.
55. mansplaining (man/explaining): Explaining something to a woman in a condescending manner.
56. manwich (man/sandwich): A sandwich made from any of the ingredients that are available in the fridge.
57. McMansion (McDonalds/mansion): A blandly generic large house.
58. meld (melt/weld): Blend/combine.
59. metrosexual (metropolitan/heterosexual): A man who appears to be inordinately concerned about personal aesthetics and/or is perceived for this quality as being homosexual.
60. mockumentary (mock/documentary): A genre of film and television in which fictitious events are presented in documentary-style manner.
61. modem (modulation/demodulation): An electronic device that makes possible the transmission of data to or from a computer via telephone or other communication lines.
62. motel (motor/hotel): Overnight accommodation designed for motorists.
63. motorcade (motor/cavalcade): A procession of motor vehicles.
64. murse (man/purse): A man’s purse.
65. netizen (internet + citizen): An individual who is heavily involved with online activities.
66. Nintendinitis (Nintendo/tendonitis): A condition caused by playing too many video games.
67. Oxbridge (Oxford/Cambridge): An inclusive term that is used to describe both Oxford and Cambridge universities.
68. pregnesia: (pregnancy/amnesia): The loss of your short-term memory as a result of pregnancy.
69. ridonkulous (ridiculous/donkey): The epitome of ridiculous.
70. rockabilly (rock’n’roll/hill-billy): A type of popular music, originating in the southeastern US in the 1950s, combining elements of rock and roll and country music.
71. skort (skirt/shorts): A pair of shorts that resemble a skirt.
72. screenager (screen/teenager): The typical adolescent who indulges excessively in screen entertainment.
73. scuzz (scum/fuzz): Something that is regarded as disgusting.
74. shemale (she/male/female): A man disguised as a women.
75. shopaholic (shop/alcoholic): An individual who is addicted to shopping and buying products.
76. smog (smoke + fog): A form of air pollution that has the qualities of both smoke and fog.
77. Spanglish (Spanish/English): A hybrid language that combines English and Spanish.
78. spork (spoon/fork): A hybrid form of cutlery.
79. stagflation (stagnation/inflation): Persistent high inflation and unemployment accompanied by stagnant demand.
80. telethon (television/marathon): A very long television program.
81. televangelist (television/evangelist): An evangelist who regularly appears on television.
82. three-peat (three/repeat): A third consecutive victory.
83. tomacco (tomato/tobacco): A hybrid created by grafting a tomato plant onto the roots of a tobacco plant.
84. turducken (turkey/duck/chicken): A dish consisting of a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed into a de-boned turkey.
85. vidiot (video/idiot): A habitual, undiscriminating watcher of television or videotapes.
86. workaholic (work/alcoholic): An individual who works excessive hours.

Can you think of any examples of portmanteau? Leave a comment and share them with our readers.

In linguistics, a blend word is a word formed from parts of two or more other words. The process is called blending and the result is a blend word.

A portmanteau word typically combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings, for instance, the term «wurly» when describing hair that is both wavy and curly.

The word «portmanteau» was first used in this context by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

I’m not entirely sure if there is a technical distinction between portmanteaus and blends or if the latter is a hypernym of the former. There is some suggestion that portmanteaux specifically combine the beginning of the first word and the ending of the second. But I’ve been unable to confirm the validity of this distinction and I’ve found that they’re mostly used interchangeably. Any information on this matter is welcome.

P.S. ELU has tags for both these terms: portmanteau-words, blend-words.

Learn More With These Definitions and Examples

Updated on February 05, 2020

A word blend is formed by combining two separate words with different meanings to form a new one. These words are often created to describe a new invention or phenomenon that combines the definitions or traits of two existing things. 

Word Blends and Their Parts

Word blends are also known as portmanteau (pronunciation port-MAN-toe), a French word meaning «trunk» or «suitcase.» Author Lewis Carroll is credited with coining this term in «Through the Looking-Glass,» published in 1871. In that book, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice about making up new words from parts of existing ones:

«You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.»

There are different ways of creating word blends. One way is to combine portions of two other words to make a new one. These word fragments are called morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language. The word «camcorder,» for example,» combines parts of «camera» and «recorder.» Word blends can also be created by joining a full word with a portion of another word (called a splinter). For example, the word «motorcade» combines «motor» plus a portion of «cavalcade.»

Word blends can also be formed by overlapping or combining phonemes, which are parts of two words that sound alike. One example of an overlapping word blend is «Spanglish,» which is an informal mix of spoken English and Spanish. Blends can also be formed through the omission of phonemes. Geographers sometimes refer to «Eurasia,» the landmass that combines Europe and Asia. This blend is formed by taking the first syllable of «Europe» and adding it to the word «Asia.»

The Blend Trend

English is a dynamic language that is constantly evolving. Many of the words in the English language are derived from ancient Latin and Greek or from other European languages such as German or French. But starting in the 20th century, blended words began to emerge to describe new technologies or cultural phenomena. For instance, as dining out became more popular, many restaurants began serving a new weekend meal in the late morning. It was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so someone decided to make a new word that described a meal that was a little bit of both. Thus, «brunch» was born.

As new inventions changed the way people lived and worked, the practice of combining parts of words to make new ones became popular. In the 1920s, as traveling by car became more common, a new kind of hotel that catered to drivers emerged. These «motor hotels» quickly proliferated and became known as «motels.» In 1994, when a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel opened, connecting France and Great Britain, it quickly became known as the «Chunnel,» a word blend of «Channel» and «tunnel.»

New word blends are being created all the time as cultural and technological trends emerge. In 2018, Merriam-Webster added the word «mansplaining» to their dictionary. This blended word, which combines «man» and «explaining,» was coined to describe the habit that some men have of explaining things in a condescending manner.  

Examples

Here are some examples of word blends and their roots:

Blended word	Root word 1	Root word 2
agitprop	agitation	propaganda
bash	bat	mash
biopic	biography	picture
Breathalyzer	breath	analyzer
clash	clap	crash
docudrama	documentary	drama
electrocute	electricity	execute
emoticon	emotion	icon
fanzine	fan	magazine
frenemy	friend	enemy
Globish	global	English
infotainment	information	entertainment
moped	motor	pedal
pulsar	pulse	quasar
sitcom	situation	comedy
sportscast	sports	broadcast
staycation	stay	vacation
telegenic	television	photogenic
workaholic	work	alcoholic

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