Portmanteau (original) (raw)
A portmanteau (pronounced UK: /pO:t'm{nt@U/ , US: /pOrt'm{ntoU/, plural portmanteaus or portmanteaux) is a large travelling case made of leather. These cases consist of two halves that are connected with a hinge.
In linguistics, a portmanteau word (also called a blend, portmanteau or frankenword) is a word that is formed by combining two other words. This meaning of the word was coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. For example, "smog" is a combination of the words "smoke" and "fog." Carroll used such words to humorous effect in his poems, especially "Jabberwocky." James Joyce used portmanteau words extensively in Finnegans Wake. Many corporate brand names and trademarks are portmanteaux. For example, "Wikipedia" is a portmanteau made from wiki and encyclopedia.
Portmanteau words are an important feature of fusional languages such as Latin.
See also: acronym, neologism, list of portmanteaus, portmanteau film