Portmanteau words
I’ve already discussed many types of compound nouns in English, from compound verbs and nouns to compound adjectives and even sentences. But portmanteau words aren’t compounds since they don’t combine two words the way agent nouns such as “firefighter”’ and “cabdriver” do, they are created when words are combined in other ways. According to Bryan Gardner in Gardner’s Modern English Language, the author known as Lewis Carroll came up with the term “portmanteau words” to describe “words formed by combining the sounds and meanings of…different words.” Since Carroll lived in the 1800s, when bags, cases, and trunks with two sections were commonly called portmanteaus, it’s not surprising that he used this term related to the clever combinations he used in his popular works of fiction.
PORTMANTEAU WORDS are formed by blending both the sounds and the meanings of two separate words into a single new term. The word portmanteau itself comes from French — porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak).
These blended words are extremely common in modern English, especially in media, technology, and informal communication. Some become so widely used that speakers no longer recognise them as blends. While many are now included in standard dictionaries, others remain informal or creative coinages.
Common Features of Portmanteau Words:
→ They merge pronunciation and meaning, not just spelling.
→ They often arise from social trends, technology, or popular culture.
→ They can be playful, expressive, or highly practical.
→ Their meanings are usually transparent when you identify the original words.
Classic and Everyday Examples
- Bit = binary + digit
- Blog = web + log
- Brunch = breakfast + lunch
- Chunnel = Channel + tunnel
- nzine = fanatic + magazineHel
- iport = helicopter + airport
- aundromat = laundry + automat
- Moped = motor + pedal
- otel = motor + hotel
- Smog = smoke + fog
- evangelist = television + evangelist
- Fortnight = fourteen + night (2 weeks)
(Note: Some commonly cited examples such as e-mail, e-commerce, or hi-tech are better described as compounds or prefix formations rather than true portmanteaus.)
Modern and Creative Portmanteau Words
Language keeps evolving, and new blends appear constantly:
- Podcast = iPod + broadcast
- Webinar = web + seminar
- Netiquette = internet + etiquette
- Infotainment = information + entertainment
- Staycation = stay + vacation
- Bromance = brother + romance
- Mocktail = mock + cocktail
- Glamping = glamorous + camping
- Frenemy = friend + enemy
- Botox = botulism + toxin
- Brexit = Britain + exit (Of Course !)
So, should writers feel free to just invent new words? Clearly many have done in the past. Shakespeare, for example, coined a variety of new usages. Perhaps the best advice would be to stick to existing words where they work as this helps keep your writing clear. It’s very common, for example, for reporters discussing some new scandal to form a portmanteau with the –gate suffix (i.e. as a reference to Watergate). Thus, there is “Irangate”, “spygate”, “climategate”, “Penelopegate”, … and so forth. A reader seeing one of these new words will instantly be able to grasp its meaning without its needing to be explained. If readers can’t make such an interpretation, however, they won’t know for sure what you intended by the word and your writing will suffer.
