A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsGarner's Modern American Usage
, p. 644. in which parts of multiple words are combined into a new word, as in ''smog'', coined by blending ''smoke'' and ''fog'', or ''motel'', from ''motor'' and ''hotel''. In

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, a portmanteau is a single morph that is analyzed as representing two (or more) underlying

morpheme A morpheme is the smallest meaningful Constituent (linguistics), constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistics, linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology (linguistics), morphology. In English, morphemes are ...

s. When portmanteaus shorten established compounds, they can be considered

clipped compound ''Clipped'' is a video featuring five tracks by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. First released in 1991, it contained three tracks from ''The Razors Edge (AC/DC album), The Razors Edge'' and two from ''Blow Up Your Video''. In 2002 a DVD ve ...

s. A portmanteau word is similar to a ''

contraction Contraction may refer to: Linguistics * Contraction (grammar), a shortened word * Poetic contraction, omission of letters for poetic reasons * Elision, omission of sounds ** Syncope (phonology), omission of sounds in a word * Synalepha, merged ...

'', 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 Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...

, which does not involve the

truncation In mathematics and computer science, truncation is limiting the number of digits right of the decimal point. Truncation and floor function Truncation of positive real numbers can be done using the floor function. Given a number x \in \mathbb ...

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

The word ''portmanteau'' was introduced in this sense by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

in the book ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' (1871), where

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

explains to Alice the coinage of unusual words used in "

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The bo ...

".Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., and Hyams, N. (2007) ''An Introduction to Language'', Eighth Edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth. . ''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: In his introduction to his 1876 poem ''

The Hunting of the Snark ''The Hunting of the Snark'', subtitled ''An Agony in 8 Fits'', is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight por ...

'', Carroll again uses ''portmanteau'' when discussing lexical selection: In then-contemporary English, a portmanteau was a

suitcase A suitcase is a form of luggage. It is a rectangular container with a handle typically used to carry one's clothes and other belongings while traveling. The first suitcases appeared in the late 19th century due to the increased popularity of ma ...

that opened into two equal sections. According to the

OED Online The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

, 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". According to

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (''AHD'') is an American English, American dictionary of English published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969. ...

(AHD), the etymology of the word is the French , from , "to carry", and , "cloak" (from Old French , from Latin ). According to the

, 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)". In modern French, a is a

clothes valet Clothes valet, also called men's valet, valet stand and suit stand, is an item of furniture on which clothes, particularly men's suits, may be hung. Typical features of valets include trouser hangers, jacket hangers, shoe bars, and a tray organi ...

, a coat-tree or similar article of furniture for hanging up jackets, hats, umbrellas and the like. An occasional synonym for "portmanteau word" is ''frankenword'', an

autological word An autological word (also called homological word) is a word that expresses a property that it also possesses (e.g., "word" is a word, "noun" is a noun, "English" is an English word, " pentasyllabic" has five syllables, and "writable" is writab ...

exemplifying the phenomenon it describes, blending "

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

" and "word".

Examples in English

Many

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

s are examples of blends, but many blends have become part of the lexicon. In '' Punch (magazine), Punch'' in 1896, the word

brunch Brunch is a meal eaten between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., sometimes accompanied by alcoholic drinks (typically champagne or a cocktail). The meal originated in the British hunt breakfast. The word ''brunch'' is a portmanteau of ''breakfast'' a ...

(breakfast + lunch) was introduced as a "portmanteau word". In 1964, the newly independent African republic of

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

and

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

chose the portmanteau word

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

as its name. Similarly

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

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 Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

and

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...

are respectively the American and Mexican sides of a single

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

. A scientific example is a ''

liger The liger is a hybrid offspring of a male lion (''Panthera leo'') and a female tiger (''Panthera tigris''). The liger has parents in the same genus but of different species. The liger is distinct from the similar hybrid called the tigon, and ...

'', which is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger (a ''

tigon A tigon (), tiglon () (portmanteau of ''tiger'' and ''lion''), or tion () is the hybrid offspring of a male tiger (''Panthera tigris'') and a female lion (''Panthera leo'').

'' is a similar cross in which the male is a tiger). Many company or brand names are portmanteaus, including

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

, a portmanteau of ''

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...

'' and ''software''; the cheese ''

Cambozola Cambozola is a cow's milk cheese that is a combination in style of a French soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola. History Cambozola was patented and industrially produced for the world market by the large German company H ...

'' combines a similar rind to ''

Camembert Camembert (, also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit with ...

'' with the same mould used to make ''

Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. History Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...

''; passenger rail company ''

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

'', a portmanteau of ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

'' and ''

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

''; ''

Velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fasten ...

'', a portmanteau of the French (velvet) and (hook); ''

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

'', a portmanteau of (Latin for truth) and ''horizon''; and

ComEd Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County on the south to ...

(a Chicago-area electric utility company), a portmanteau of ''Commonwealth'' and ''

Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

''. ''Jeoportmanteau!'' is a recurring category on the American television

quiz show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' 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 A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah (given name), Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a Class (philo ...

with common nouns, such as "

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

", which refers to the scheme of Massachusetts Governor

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry (; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death in 18 ...

for politically contrived redistricting; the perimeter of one of the districts thereby created resembled a very curvy

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

in outline. The term gerrymander has itself contributed to portmanteau terms

bjelkemander The Bjelkemander was the term given to a system of malapportionment in the Australian state of Queensland in the 1970s and 1980s. Under the system, electorates were allocated to zones such as rural or metropolitan and electoral boundaries drawn ...

and

playmander The Playmander was a gerrymandering system, a pro-rural electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, which was introduced by the incumbent Liberal and Country League (LCL) government in 1936, and remained in place for 32 ...

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

is a common portmanteau for the UK's two oldest universities, those of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. In 2016, Britain's planned exit from the European Union became known as "

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

The word ''refudiate'' was famously used by

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

when she misspoke, conflating the words ''refute'' and ''repudiate''. Though the word was a

gaffe A political gaffe is an error in speech made by a politician. Definition According to Barack Obama it is: used by the press to describe any maladroit phrase by a candidate that reveals ignorance, carelessness, fuzzy thinking, insensitivity, m ...

, it was recognized as the ''New Oxford American Dictionary''s "Word of the Year" in 2010. The business lexicon includes words like "

advertainment Advertainment is a term used to reflect the intertwining relationships between advertising and entertainment. Typically it refers to media that combines various forms of ''entertainment'' (television, movies, songs, etc.) with elements of ''adverti ...

" (advertising as entertainment), "

advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed publications, t ...

" (a blurred distinction between advertising and editorial), "

infotainment Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of infor ...

" (information about entertainment or itself intended to entertain by its manner of presentation), and "

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

" (informational commercial). Company and product names may also use portmanteau words: examples include ''Timex'' (a portmanteau of ''Time'' eferring_to_Time_magazine.html" ;"title="Time_magazine.html" ;"title="eferring to Time magazine">eferring to Time magazine">Time_magazine.html" ;"title="eferring to Time magazine">eferring to Time magazineand Kleenex), Renault's ''Renault Twingo, Twingo'' (a combination of ''twist'', ''swing'' and ''tango''), and Garmin (portmanteau of company founders' first names Gary Burrell and Min Kao). "

Desilu Productions Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...

" was a Los Angeles–based company jointly owned by actor couple

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

is the combination of the first names of the parents of the Weinstein brothers.

Name-meshing

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

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

s such as "Billary" (referring to former United States president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

and his wife, former United States Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

). 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 Benjamin Zimmer (born 1971) is an American linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator. He is a language columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributing editor for ''The Atlantic''. He was formerly a language columnist for ''The ...

states. For instance,

Putler Putler (), sometimes extended to Vladolf Putler (russian: Владольф Путлер, label=none), is a derogatory neologism and portmanteau formed by merging the names of Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler. Often used in the slogan "Putler Kaput ...

is used by critics of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, merging his name with

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. By contrast, the public, including the media, use portmanteaus to refer to their favorite pairings as a way to "...giv people an essence of who they are within the same name." This is particularly seen in cases of fictional and real-life "

supercouple A supercouple or super couple (also known as a power couple) is a popular and/or wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or obsessive fashion. The term originated in the United States, and it was coined in the earl ...

s". An early known example,

Bennifer Bennifer is a name given by the media to the high-profile relationship between American actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck and Latin entertainer Jennifer Lopez. The pair had a widely publicized 18-month romance from 2002 to 2004, and were engaged t ...

, referred to film stars

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

. Other examples include

Brangelina A supercouple or super couple (also known as a power couple) is a popular and/or wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or obsessive fashion. The term originated in the United States, and it was coined in the earl ...

(

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

) and

TomKat Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actors, he has received List of awards and nominations re ...

(

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

and

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her feature film debut in 1997 with a supporting role in Ang Lee ...

). On Wednesday, 28 June 2017, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...

included the quip, "How I wish

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

dated

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

, so I could call them 'Portmanteau'". Holidays are another example, as in

Thanksgivukkah Thanksgivukkah is a holiday name portmanteau neologism given to the convergence of the American holiday of Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving and the first day (and second night) of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, Hanukkah on Thursday, No ...

, a portmanteau neologism given to the convergence of the American holiday of

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

and the first day of the

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

of Hanukkah on Thursday, 28 November 2013. Chrismukkah is another pop-culture portmanteau neologism popularized by the TV drama ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...

'', merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah. In the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

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 San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Other languages

Modern Hebrew

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

abounds with blending. Along with CD, or simply he, label=none, דיסק (), Hebrew has the blend he, label=none, תקליטור (), which consists of he, label=none, תקליט (, 'phonograph record') and he, label=none, אור (, 'light'). Other blends in Hebrew include the following: * he, label=none, ערפיח (, 'smog'), from he, label=none, ערפל (, 'fog') and he, label=none, פיח (, 'soot') * he, label=none, מדרחוב (, 'pedestrian-only street'), from he, label=none, מדרכה (, 'sidewalk') and he, label=none, רחוב (, 'street') * he, label=none, מחזמר (, 'musical'), from he, label=none, מחזה (, 'theatre play') and he, label=none, זמר (, 'singing' erund * he, label=none, מגדלור (, 'lighthouse'), from he, label=none, מגדל (, 'tower') and he, label=none, אור (, 'light') * he, label=none, קרנף (, 'rhinoceros'), from he, label=none, קרן (, 'horn') and he, label=none, אף (, 'nose') * he, label=none, רמזור (, 'traffic light'), from he, label=none, רמז (, 'indication') and he, label=none, אור (, 'light') * he, label=none, חוטיני (, 'thong bikini'), from he, label=none, חוט‎ (, 'string') and he, label=none, ביקיני (, 'bikini') Sometimes the root of the second word is truncated, giving rise to a blend that resembles an

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...

: * he, label=none, תפוז (, 'orange' (fruit)), from he, label=none, תפוח (, 'apple') and he, label=none, זהב (, 'gold') * he, label=none, תפוד (, 'potato'), from he, label=none, תפוח (, 'apple') and he, label=none, אדמה (, 'soil' or 'earth'), but the full he, label=none, תפוח אדמה (, 'apple of the soil' or 'apple of the earth') is more common

Irish

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

is referred to as (from , "Britain", and , "leave") or (from , "England", and , "out") * The resignation of

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...

(deputy prime minister) Frances Fitzgerald was referred to as (from , "goodbye" and ''Tánaiste'') * , an Irish-language

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

(from , "infants", and , "band") * The Irish translation of ''

A Game of Thrones ''A Game of Thrones'' is the first novel in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both ...

'' refers to

Winterfell The fictional world in which the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels by George R. R. Martin take place is divided into several continents, known collectively as The Known World. Most of the story takes place on the continent of #Westeros, Wester ...

castle as (from , "winter", and , "exposed to winds") * (from English ''jail'' and , "Irish-speaking region"): the community of Irish-speaking

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

prisoners.

Icelandic

There is a tradition of

linguistic purism in Icelandic Linguistic purism in Icelandic is the policy of discouraging new loanwords from entering the language, by creating new words from Old Icelandic and Old Norse roots. In Iceland, linguistic purism is archaising, trying to resuscitate the language ...

, and

s are frequently created from pre-existing words. For example, 'computer' is a portmanteau of 'digit, number' and 'oracle, seeress'.

Indonesian

In Indonesian language, Indonesian, portmanteaus and

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

s are very common in both formal and informal usage.

Malaysian

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.

Japanese

A very common type of portmanteau in Japanese forms one word from the beginnings of two others (that is, from two back-clippings). The portion of each input word retained is usually two

morae A mora (plural ''morae'' or ''moras''; often symbolized μ) is a basic timing unit in the phonology of some spoken languages, equal to or shorter than a syllable. For example, a short syllable such as ''ba'' consists of one mora (''monomoraic'') ...

, which is tantamount to one

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

in most words written in kanji. The inputs to the process can be native words,

Sino-Japanese words Sino-Japanese vocabulary, also known as refers to Japanese vocabulary that had originated in Chinese or were created from elements borrowed from Chinese. Some grammatical structures and sentence patterns can also be identified as Sino-Japanese. Si ...

gairaigo is Japanese for "loan word", and indicates a transcription into Japanese. In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed in ancient times from Old or Middle Chinese (especially Literary Chinese) ...

(later borrowings), or combinations thereof. A Sino-Japanese example is the name for the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, in full . With borrowings, typical results are words such as , 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 . Another example, , is a contracted form of the English words and . A famous example of a blend with mixed sources is , blending the Japanese word for and the Greek word . 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 A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

also are portmanteaus, such as ''

Hetalia is a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya. The series' main presentation is as an often over-the-top allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons ...

'' (ヘタリア). It came from He''ta''re (ヘタレ), which means "idiot", and I''ta''lia (イタリア) which means Italy. Another example is ''

Servamp is a Japanese manga series by Strike Tanaka, serialized in Media Factory's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Monthly Comic Gene'' since 2011. It has been collected into nineteen ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series is licensed in North America by Se ...

'', which came from the English words Ser''va''nt (サーヴァント) and ''Va''mpire (ヴァンパイア).

Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...

, portmanteaus are usually slang, including: * ''Cantriz'', from ''cantora'' (female singer) and ''atriz'' (actress), which defines women that both sing and act. * ''Aborrescente'', from ''aborrecer'' (annoy) and ''adolescente'' (teenager), which is a pejorative term for teenagers. * ''Pescotapa'', from ''pescoço'' (neck) and ''tapa'' (slap), which defines a slap on the back of the neck. In

European Portuguese European Portuguese ( pt, português europeu, ), also known as Portuguese of Portugal (Portuguese: português de Portugal), Iberian Portuguese (Portuguese: português ibérico), and Peninsular Portuguese (Portuguese: português peninsular), refer ...

, portmanteaus are also used. Some of them include: * ''Telemóvel'', which means mobile phone, comes from ''telefone'' (telephone) and ''móvel'' (mobile). * ''Cantautor'', which means Singer-songwriter, and comes from ''cantor'' (singer) and ''autor'' (songwriter).

Spanish

Although traditionally uncommon in Spanish, portmanteaus are increasingly finding their way into the language, mainly for marketing and commercial purposes. Examples in

Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish ( es, español mexicano) is the variety of Dialect, dialects and Sociolect, sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexican territory. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, with more than twice as many as in a ...

include from combining "coffee shop" and "bookstore", or '

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

' from combining and . 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). *'' Mecatrónica'' and '' Ofimática'' two

Neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

s that are blends of ''mecánica'' (mechanical) with ''electrónica'' (electronics), and ''oficina'' (office) with ''informática'' ( Computer science, informatics) respectively. *''

Espanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mo ...

'', 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, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AM), is the flag carrier airline of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central Ameri ...

, (Aerovías de México), Banorte (Bank and North),

Cemex CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than 50 countries. ...

(Cement and Mexico),

Jumex Grupo Jumex, S.A. de C.V. (pronounced "HOO-MEX"), which means Jugos Mexicanos (Mexican Juices), is a brand of juice and nectar from Mexico. The Jumex brand is also popular among Hispanic consumers in the United States. Currently, the Jumex Grou ...

(Jugos Mexicanos or Mexican Juice), Mabe (from founders Egon MAbardi and Francisco BErrondo),

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...

(Petróleos Mexicanos or Mexican Oil), Softtek (portmanteau and stylization of Software and technology), and

Telmex Telmex is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunications products and services in Mexico. Telmex is still the dominant fixed-line phone carrier in Mexico. In addition to traditional fixed-line ...

(Teléfonos de Mexico).

Gamesa Gamesa (formerly Galletera Mexicana S.A. de C.V. "Mexican Biscuit Company") is Mexico's largest manufacturer of cookies. The company also makes flour, ready to eat cereals and other related products. It is headquartered in San Nicolás de los Gar ...

(Galletera Mexicana, S.A. or Mexican Biscuit Company, Inc.) and

Famsa Grupo Famsa was a retail company engaged in the purchase and sale of household appliances, electronic products, furniture, clothing and other consumer products in Mexico and United States. Today the company has 379 stores in 78 Mexican cities and ...

(fabricantes Muebleros, S.A.) are examples of portmanteaus of four words, including the "S.A." (Sociedad Anónima). *Many more portmanteaus in Spanish come from

Anglicism An anglicism is a word or construction borrowed from English by another language. With the rise in Anglophone media and the global spread of British and US cultures in the 20th and 21st centuries, many English terms have become widespread in o ...

s, which are words borrowed from English, like ''módem'', ''transistor, códec, email, internet'' or ''emoticon.'' A somewhat popular example in Spain is the word , a portmanteau of (''cockerel and elephant''). It was the prize on the Spanish version of the children TV show ''Child's Play'' ( es, Juego de niños) that ran on the public television channel La 1 of

Televisión Española Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...

(TVE) from 1988 to 1992.

Portmanteau morph

, a

blend A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender. Blend Blend may also refer to: * Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words * ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans * ...

is an amalgamation or fusion of independent

lexeme A lexeme () is a unit of lexical meaning that underlies a set of words that are related through inflection. It is a basic abstract unit of meaning, a unit of morphological analysis in linguistics that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken ...

s, while a ''portmanteau'' or ''portmanteau morph'' is a single

morph Morph may refer to: Biology * Morph (zoology), a visual or behavioral difference between organisms of distinct populations in a species * Muller's morphs, a classification scheme for genetic mutations * "-morph", a suffix commonly used in tax ...

that is analyzed as representing two (or more) underlying

s. For example, in the Latin word la, label=none, animalis, the ending la, label=none, -is is a portmanteau morph because it is used for two morphemes: the singular number and the genitive case. In English, two separate morphs are used: ''of an animal''. Other examples include french: link=no, à le → and french: label=none, de le → .

References

External links

{{Wiktionary, portmanteau, portmanteau word, English blends 1870s neologisms