Portmanteau Words

A portmanteau word is a mixture or blend of two other words to create a new word with a meaning related to the two original parts. The word portmanteau is French for coatstand and is in itself an example of such a word since it is formed from the French 'porter' meaning to carry and 'manteau' meaning coat / cloak. In English the word `portmanteau' is used to refer to a type of bag with two sides (as shown in the picture). It is said that the famous author Lewis Carroll first coined the expression 'portmanteau word' in his book 'Through the Looking Glass' in 1871.

Some common Portmanteau words include the following;

BRUNCH (breakfast - lunch)

INTERNET (international - network)

CHOCOHOLIC ( Chocolate - alcoholic)

Look at the following word amalgamations and see if you can work out the two original words and the meaning of the new Portmanteau word. Post your answers in the comments box.

MOTEL

OXBRIDGE

GINORMOUS

BRANGELINA

SMOG

BLOG

BOLLYWOOD

CHUNNEL

EMAIL

CAMCORDER

The English language is constantly evolving and new words appear all the time. You could even try to come up with your own portmanteau word in English or in Spanish and post that in the comment box too telling us how you came up with the idea and what it means!