What is a portmanteau? According to dictionary.com and Merriam Webster, a portmanteau is a leather trunk or suitcase that opens up into two halves. But a portmanteau is also a word or part of a word made by combining the spellings and meanings of two or more other words or word parts. The plural is portmanteaus or portmanteaux.
In 1871 in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a wonderfully imaginative book, Lewis Carroll came up with a creative new way to use a portmanteau, which was at that time still just a leather trunk of suitcase that opened up into two halves. His version of a portmanteau was to blend two words together so that the sounds and meanings of two separate words came together as a new word. Did he call his new word a portmanteau or a portmanteaux word? I’m not sure if he did or not, but what was this word? It was slithy (according to Humpty Dumpty, this was the combination of slimy and lithe) and was in the nonsense poem “Jabberwocky.”
brunch – This portmanteau, a combination of the words breakfast and lunch, is a meal that serves as both. In 1896 in the magazine Punch, brunch was supposed to be eaten closer to the time for breakfast. If it was eaten closer to the time for lunch, it should be called blunch. That term has since fallen into obscurity, and I can understand why. Blunch just doesn’t sound very appetizing to me.
chillax – This portmanteau, a combination of chill and relax, is used to tell someone to calm down without being too stern or formal about it. This word first came into use somewhere between 1990 and 1995.
motel– A motel is also known as a motor hotel, motor inn, or motor lodge. The portmanteau combines the words motor and hotel. A hotel normally has a lobby from which you take the stairs or an elevator to get to your room. In a motel, you park your car right outside of your room in a parking lot.
biopic– A biopic combines the two words biographical and picture. Biopics dramatize real events and tell the life stories of famous people in an entertaining way. It’s like a biography in the form of a movie.
smog– The portmanteau smog is probably familiar to all of us. The words smoke and fog were first blended in 1905 by a scientist to describe the polluted and hazy skies that were prominent throughout the British Isles. Today smog is either described as sulfurous smog, which is caused by burning fossil fuels, or photochemical smog, which is caused by an abundance of motor vehicle emissions.
podcast– I honestly didn’t realize this was a portmanteau. I assumed (and we should never assume) they just made the word up, but there was actually some thought behind it. Podcast is a combination of the words iPod and broadcast.
spork– Spork combines the words spoon and fork. And you can use a spork for the things you would use either of those utensils for. Some sporks even have a serrated edge along one side which makes it easier for you to cut through soft items. Therefore, it could be the only utensil you need to eat your meal.
There are many portmanteaus out there. Which ones do you know? Comment and let us know.
