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portmanteau

noun
port·​man·​teau | \ pȯrt-ˈman-(ˌ)tō How to pronounce portmanteau (audio) \
plural portmanteaus or portmanteaux\ pȯrt-​ˈman-​(ˌ)tōz How to pronounce portmanteaux (audio) \

Definition of portmanteau

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a large suitcase
2 : a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms (such as smog from smoke and fog)

portmanteau

adjective

Definition of portmanteau (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : combining more than one use or quality
2 : being a portmanteau a portmanteau word
Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about portmanteau

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Synonyms for portmanteau

Synonyms: Noun

carry-on, carryall, grip, handbag, holdall [chiefly British], suitcase, traveling bag, wallet

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Did You Know?

In Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, Alice asks Humpty Dumpty to explain words from the nonsense poem "Jabberwocky" and is told that slithy is "like a portmanteau-there are two meanings packed up into one word." Although slithy hasn't caught on (it's made up of slimy and lithe, according to Humpty Dumpty), another portmanteau invented by Carroll has in fact found a place in the language: chortle (supposedly from chuckle and snort). English includes other portmanteaus, too, such as brunch (breakfast and lunch) and dramedy (drama and comedy). Following Carroll's lead, English speakers have come to call these fairly common words by the not-so-common name for a type of traveling bag with two compartments. The technical (and simpler) term for such words is blend.

Examples of portmanteau in a Sentence

Noun

 carried her possessions with her in an old portmanteau

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

 Pitch a tent at one of the many campgrounds or cozy up in a hillside yurt at Treebones, which has been offering glamorous camping since well before someone coined the clever portmanteau. — Sarah Feldberg, SFChronicle.com, "How to do Big Sur the right way," 3 July 2019 Juneteenth, a portmanteau of the date June 19, recognizes the abolition of slavery in Texas in 1865, effectively ending the practice in the United States. — Trevor Fraser, orlandosentinel.com, "Juneteenth a reason to celebrate in Orlando and Kissimmee," 12 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'portmanteau.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of portmanteau

Noun

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for portmanteau

Noun

Middle French portemanteau, from porter to carry + manteau mantle, from Latin mantellum — more at port

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