What is a "portmanteau"?

A portmanteau or portmanteau word is a linguistic blend of words, in which parts of multiple words, or their phones (sounds), and their meanings are combined into a new word.

A portmanteau should be distinguished from a compound, which does not involve the truncation of parts of the stems of the blended words. For instance, starfish is a compound, not a portmanteau, of star and fish; whereas a hypothetical portmanteau of star and fish might be stish.

Other Examples of a Portmanteau:

telephone + marathon = telethon

medical + care = Medicare

parachute + troops = paratroops

camera + recorder = camcorder

web + log = blog

breakfast + lunch = brunch

spoon + fork = spork

costume + play = cosplay

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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176 Comments

Priscilla Grenier Lund

The best explanation of this word is "suitcase"! Sorry I'm French

Skinnichik

French word for suitcase. It may also have your chosen meaning but I believe suitcase is the primary meaning of this word.

( EIGHT**BALL)

Troian the question what is a Portmanteau? I almost thought it was a suitcase. Actually it has two meanings. Anyway good question though in this context.

Nancy Lynn

It is a large hard, usually leather, suitcase that folds open into two equal halves

Sarah Hearn-vonFoerster

When I studied in Denmark, it meant a large carry-on, or suitcase, " Ou est votre portmanteau? ( On a field trip to Paris, I misplaced it...it became a big joke.

james parrillo

Cari G., I am answering this question five years after you did. Perhaps, Trojan submitted it first and it takes months, or years, for someone to receive it? Thank you, Christine, James' wife

james parrillo

saadia siddiqui, I am glad you are learning more about the English language on QuizzClub. As another player commented, it includes words from other langauages, Christine, James' wife