Portmanteau Power

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Today’s lesson is about Portmanteu Words. Have you ever heard of them?

First of all, “Portmanteu” is pronounced as:

port—MAN—tow 

What a strange-sounding word, right?

That’s because this word was originally borrowed from French. Now, it’s an old-fashioned word that we use for a large suitcase that has two parts that fold together. It looks like this:

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Because of the bag's distinct form, in the year 1882, British writer Lewis Carol used the same name in his book “Through the Looking-Glass.”

Through the Looking Glass is the sequel to his very famous book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

In the second book, Lewis Carol first used the expression “Portmanteau Word” to mean “two meanings packed up into one word.”

And so,

Portmanteau Word = a word that combines the sound and meaning of two words

How Portmanteaus are Born

One good example of a Portmanteau Word is “brunch.” Brunch means a late morning meal. It’s a combination of a late breakfast and an early lunch.

This way:

Brunch = Breakfast + Lunch

Ex.

I usually have brunch on Saturdays.

I usually brunch on Saturdays.

Another good example is the word “smog.” Smog is a type of air pollution. It looks like a mixture of smoke and fog. This is why it’s another Portmanteau Word:

Smog = smoke + fog

Finally, we have “spork.”

Spork = Spoon + fork

This picture is more than enough explanation:

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As you can see, Portmanteau Words are very interesting because many new words (neologisms) come from a blending or combination of 2 different words. Afterwards, they become part of standard English.

Let’s have more examples…

You know those names that we use to call unusual English, right? Well, they’re also Portmanteau Words:

Ex.

Japlish = Japanese + English

Konglish = Korean + English

Chinglish = Chinese + English

Russlish = Russian + English

Germlish = German + English

etc.

Besides that, from celebrity news, you can hear cases of “name-meshing.”

“Name-meshing” happens when you make Portmanteau Names out of the combination of two names, especially those of well-known people.

Here are a few examples:

Jelena = Justin Bieber + Selena Gomez

Haylor = Harry Styles + Taylor Swift

Brangelina = Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie

TomKat = Tom Cruise + Katie Holmes

Billary = Bill + Hillary Clinton

etc.

Portmanteaus and Technology

Finally, because Portmanteau Words are good at adding new words to the English Vocabulary (we call new words “neologisms”), many Portmanteau Words can be found in the area of technology.

In fact, the word “Internet” is a Portmanteau Word:

Internet = international + network

Also WiFi:

WiFi = wireless + fidelity

Here are other Net words or technology terms that are also Portmanteau Words:

Portmanteau	2 Original Words
Blog	(1) web + (2) log
Emoticon	(1) emotion + (2) icon
Freeware	(1) free + (2) software
Malware	(1) malicious + (2) software
Microsoft	(1) microcomputer + (2) software
Modem	(1) modulator + (2) demodulator
Netiquette	(1) Internet + (2) etiquette
Netizen	(1) Internet + (2) citizen
Pixel	(1) pic + (2) element
Sexting	(1) sex + (2) texting
Wikipedia	(1) wiki + (2) encyclopedia

50 Portmanteaus in English

There are many Portmanteau Words in different parts of the English language.

If you still haven’t had enough, here are 50 more:

Portmanteau	2 Original Words
Beatles	(1) beat + (2) beetles
Beefalo	(1) beef + (2) buffalo
Bionic	(1) biology + (2) electronic
Bootylicious	(1) booty + (2) delicious
Breathalyzer	(1) breath + (2) analyzer
Camcorder	(1) camera + (2) recorder
Chillaxing	(1) chilling + (2) relaxing
Chork	(1) chopstick + (2) fork
Chortle	(1) chuckle + (2) snort
Croissandwich	(1) croissant + (2) sandwich
Cyborg	(1) cybernetic + (2) organism
Dancercise	(1) dance + (2) exercise
Docudrama	(1) documentary + (2) drama
Edutainment	(1) education + (2) entertainment
Eurasia	(1) Europe + (2) Asia
Faction	(1) fact + (2) fiction
Fantabulous	(1) fantastic + (2) fabulous
Fanzine	(1) fan + (2) magazine
Frappucino	(1) frappe + (2) cappucino
Ginormous	(1) giant + (2) enormous
Globish	(1) global + (2) English
Guesstimate	(1) guess + (2) estimate
Humongous	(1) huge + (2) monstrous
Infomercial	(1) information + (2) commercial
Liger	(1) lion + (2) tiger
Motel	(1) motor + (2) hotel
Olionaire	(1) oil + (2) millionaire
Outpatient	(1) outside + (2) patient
Paratroop	(1) parachute + (2) troop
Prissy	(1) prim + (2) sissy
Feminazi	(1) feminist + (2) Nazi
Rockumentary	(1) rock + (2) documentary
Seascape	(1) sea + (2) landscape
Simulcast	(1) simultaneous + (2) broadcast
Sitcom	(1) situation + (2) comedy
Skort	(1) skirt + (2) short
Skyjack	(1) sky + (2) hijack
Smash	(1) smack + (2) mash
Smirting	(1) smoking + (2) flirting
Soundscape	(1) sound + (2) landscape
Splatter	(1) splash + (2) spatter
Stagflation	(1) stagnant economy + (2) inflation
Tangelo	(1) tangerine + (2) pomelo
Telegenic	(1) television + (2) photogenic
Travelogue	(1) travel + (2) monologue
Tween	(1) teen + (2) between
Wallyball	(1) wall + (2) volleyball
Webinar	(1) web + (2) seminar
Wholpin	(1) whale + (2) dolphin
Wurly	(1) wavy + (2) curly hair

Finally…

As a reminder, I have to tell you that some of the Portmanteau Words that I have cited above are not as widely accepted. Of course, like what I said, others have already become part of standard English.  

It depends partly on how recent the new word has been created. If the word has been around longer, chances are that it has become an authentic, widely-used member of the English Vocabulary. It varies from case to case though.

For instance, the Portmanteau “Refudiate,” which was first used by American politician Sarah Palin became New Oxford American Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” in 2010.

In response to some criticism about her invention of the new word, Palin posted on Tweeter:

"Refudiate," "misunderestimate," "wee-wee'd up." English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!

Sun Jul 18 20:38:47 via web

Sarah Palin
Sarah PalinUSA

Hope You Learned Something!