[Loch-Ruadh] Word of the Day: portmanteau word (linguistic baggage claim)

[Jane Sitton]

Another interesting word.  I like the other word of the day, though, which
gives the origin.  -- Madelina


TODAY'S eTIP(TM): portmanteau word (linguistic baggage claim)

portmanteau word [port man TOH werd]

noun

A coined word that is a combination of two other words in form and meaning;
blend.  For example, smog, from smoke and fog.

Coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass, the phrase is as handy
as a portmanteau, a stiff leather suitcase that opens like a book into two
compartments.

     Carroll's poem Jabberwocky is full of portmanteau words,
     such as chortle, a combination of chuckle and snort, and
     galumph, gallop plus triumph.

Of course, folks have been fooling around with words this way long before
there was a term for it.  For example, twirl, a combination of twist and
whirl, was coined in Shakespeare's day.