In doing some research,
I ran across the word: portmanteau. I am familiar with the
term, but did some extra reading on it.
According to Wikipedia,
the definition of portmanteau (plural portmanteaux or portmanteaus)
or portmanteau word is “a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes into one new word. A portmanteau word typically combines
both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by
blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any
term or phrase that combines two or more meanings. In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph which represents two or more morphemes.”
The article went on to
talk about the many brand names out there that are a portmanteau word. I guess
I didn’t realize there were so many.
Amtrack is the portmanteau of America and track. Comcast is
the portmanteau of communication and broadcast, and cinema and maximum is Cinemax. Here are a few more: Verizon is the portmanteau of veritas and horizon. Panera is pan, the Latin word
for bread, and era, the Latin word for time. The brand of water softening
solution, Calgon, is the portmanteau
of the words calcium and gone. That one has been around for a long time!
Of course, there is the
name meshing – Brangelina (Brad and Angelina) Tomkat (Tom and Katie) A new fad?
Nah, sixty years ago, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball created Desilu Productions. Does
that mean Eric and I would be: Erilor
or Loric?
There are thousands of these words! Here are a few more familiar
portmanteau words:
Texarkana – The area including the Texas/Arkansas border near Louisiana.
Turducken – The dish
made by inserting a chicken - into a duck - into a turkey and cooking it. I’ve seen
this on one of the food channels. Sounds good! Anyone ever had turducken?
Snart - On the TV show, 30 Rock, Tina Fey coined this one. It’s
the combination of two bodily functions. I’ll let you figure that one out.
I love playing with words!
Got any favorite portmanteau words? Invent any?
Would love to hear them!
Between you, me and the gatepost,
Loree
19 comments:
I didn't know that Amtrack, Comcast and Cinemax were portmanteaux. That's a new term for me too. Very cool. I have heard of the celebrity name meshing. Love Erilor! LOL! It sounds like a character in a fantasy novel. :-) I guess mine would be Davindolyn??? Too fun!
Portmanteau. I learned a new word today. Thanks, Loree! My hubby James and I would be Jandi or Brames, lol!
Loree - I love this post! Could it be a recurring meme? ^_^ My attempt at a portmanteau word is "Plist." (Plot + Twist = Plist.)
Oh, yes, when hubby and I were newlyweds and I'd stroke his freshly shaved face, I called it "smooft" for smooth and soft. :) What a fun memory. Hadn't thought of that in a long time!
What a fun post, Loree. I love playing with words. I'll have to think up some portmanteau words now.
Hubby and I are always making up new words by changing around the first consonants... perhaps not quite portmanteaux. There seems to be a lot of these in online world, e.g. "tweeps". Sandra I love smooft - both the word and what it means.
A portmanteau is also a suitcase, right?
Thanks for the fun post on word play!
I hadn't known the name for these types of words. Now I do :)
LOL! I thought I new what this word meant, but I was wrong. (I thought it was a satchel they used years ago.)
Thanks for the fun lesson, Loree.
Blessings,
Susan :)
Gwen: Erilor does sound like a character in a fantasy novel! lol!
I like Davindolyn too. Sounds like a strong last name in a historical novel.
Brandi: The name meshing is fun. I like Jandi. It could be the name of a character in a suspense novel...does it give you any ideas? Actually Jandi Brames would be a great character name! lol!
Victoria: LOVE the plist! How's the plist in your novel coming along??? tehehe...
Sandra: Love the smooft! A close smooft shave. haha Enjoy your break, Sandra, and I hope to see many pics from your Alaskan cruise.
Keli: Glad you enjoyed it, Keli. Words are awesome!
Charlotte: You are right! I looked it up on Wikipedia and apparently a portmanteaux "is type of bag commonly found in England and other parts of Europe, and was extremely popular in the 19th century for travel."
Inluvwithwords: You're welcome, Inluv! Glad you enjoyed it.
Lynda: It's fun to learn something new everyday!
Susan: You did know it, Susan. It is a satchel too.
Gwen, Brandi, Victoria, Sandra, Keli, Charlotte, Inluv, Lynda, Susan, thank you all for stopping in. Great comments!
How fun, Loree! I can't think of any off the top of my head, but if I do I'll come back and chime in! I love messing around with and reading about words too!
Interesting! I love word plays. Looks like there's a lot of them around that I never thought about. Now you'll have me looking. :)
This is such fun! I didn't realize Panera = pan and era. To be honest, I didn't realize most of these names were portmanteaus. Very cool.
Love this, Loree! I learned something new today. :)
Ooh fun! I'm sitting in an airport after a night of not a lot of sleep, so my brain isn't working just yet. But it's fun to have learned a new word!
Jessica: I love messing around w/words too.
Rhonda: I know! Ever since Sunday, I've been looking at words and brands too.
Cynthia: I thought the Panera one was cool.
Melanie: Yay for learning something new! Hope the move is going good, Melanie. Been thinking about you.
Melissa T: Not much sleep? My brain doesn't work too good then either. Ooooh, so jealous. Sounds like your trip was great! Can't wait to hear about it.
Jessica, Rhonda, Cynthia, Melanie, and Melissa, thanks for dropping in. I love reading your comments!
Neat! This is fascinating. And a good way to invent coined words in our manuscripts!! I love playing with words like this. :)
Carol: I think it's a great way to come up with new words. I love it too. Thanks for popping in!
Never knew the name for word combinations.
Turducken sounds intertesting... ^_^
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