Portmanteau Meaning, Definition, and Example

Portmanteau is a term used to describe the combining of two or more words to form a new word that has the combined meaning of both words.

The term portmanteau was first introduced by British writer Lewis Carroll in his novel Through the Looking Glass, published in 1871.

In his book, Lewis Carroll explains the origin of the word slithy, which is a combination of slimy and lithe, then the word mimsy which is a combination of miserable and flimsy.

Since then, the use of portmanteau has become popular and used by many people in everyday life.

One of them is a well-known company, Intel. It turns out that the name is a combination of (integrated and electronics).

In fact, there are also country names that use portmanteau, namely Tanzania (Tanganyika and Zanzibar).

In addition, there are many other examples of portmanteau, including:

  • Brunch, which is a combination of breakfast and lunch.
  • Spork, which is a combination of spoon and fork.
  • Smog, which is a combination of smoke and fog.
  • Chocoholic, which is a combination of chocolate and alcoholic.
  • Infomercial, which is a combination of information and commercial.
  • Cyborg, which is a combination of cybernetic and organism.
  • Blog, which is a combination of web and log.
  • Vlog, which is a combination of video and blog.
  • Cosplay, which is a combination of costume and play.
  • Netizen, which is a combination of internet and citizen.
  • Forex, which is a combination of foreign and exchange.
  • Emoticon, which is a combination of emotion and icon.
  • Bollywood, which is a combination of bombay and hollywood.
  • Malware, which is a combination of malicious and software.
  • Webinar, which is a combination of World Wide Web and seminar.
  • Telemarketing, which is a combination of telephone and marketing.
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