portmanteau Hear it!

portmanteau Definition

port·man·teau (pôrt man′tō, pôrt′man tō′)

noun pl. portmanteaus -·teaus or portmanteaux -·teaux (-tōz)

a traveling case or bag; esp., a stiff leather suitcase that opens like a book into two compartments

Etymology: Fr portemanteau < porter, to carry + manteau, cloak: see port & mantle

portmanteau Telecom Definition
  1. An old type of leather suitcase that usually opened into two compartments. The word originates from the French portemanteau, from porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak), and inspired Lewis Carroll's use of the word with a new meaning.
  2. A combination word, or blend, that combines the sounds and meanings of two words. Modem, for example, is a portmanteau that combines the words modulate and demodulate, describing a device that performs both functions. Similarly, a codec both codes and decodes data, and a transceiver is both a transmitter and receiver. Lewis Carroll coined this usage of the word in his famous book Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871). In the book, Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the construct and meaning of words from the poem "Jabberwocky," telling her that "Well,`slithy' means `lithe and slimy.' . . .You see it's like a portmanteau -- there are two meanings packed up into one word."
portmanteau Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • small: Each officer to be allowed to take a carpet-bag or small portmanteau.
  • black: What, he asked himself, had been the contents of the black portmanteau?

Modifies a noun

  • word: Many are portmanteau words - where two meanings are packed into one word.
  • film: Eros Odd portmanteau film detailing three episodes built around erotic feelings.
  • tag: A set of fifteen such portmanteau tags have been declared, covering the major pairs of confusable tags.
  • term: It seems to me undeniable that the word ' normal ' is what philosophers of the fifties primly termed " portmanteau terms " .
  • horror: Chaucer and Journey's End present obvious parallels, as do all the portmanteau horror films from the 1970s produced by Hammer.
portmanteau Quotes

'Slithy'means 'lithe and slimy'† You see it's like a portmanteauöthere are two meanings packed up into one word.

—Dodgson