• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Kinney Brothers Publishing

ESL Teaching & Publishing

  • Kinney Brothers Publishing
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Audio Stories

Fun Facts About English #49 – Portmanteau

03/20/2020 by admin Leave a Comment

In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice that slithy combines the words ‘lithe and slimy’ and mimsy means ‘flimsy and miserable.’ Though Carroll’s fanciful expressions may have lacked linguistic legs, his analogous use of portmanteau, a Middle French term for ‘a large suitcase,’ coined the word as a literary device. In fact, portmanteau is itself a portmanteau that joins porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak)! A synonym and itself a portmanteau, frankenword is an autological word exemplifying the very word it describes.

Portmanteau words are very popular in modern-day English and new combinations can manifest from any social corner. Many older words have become so common that their timely origins are forgotten and their novelty has long since worn off. Here is a short list of common portmanteaux in order of their known appearance.

  • gerrymander – Governor Elbridge Gerry + salamander; early 19th century
  • brunch – breakfast + lunch; late 19th century
  • Eurasia – Europe + Asia; 1881
  • electrocution – electricity + execution; 1889
  • motorcade – motor + cavalcade; early 20th century
  • smog – smoke + fog; early 20th century
  • spork – spoon + fork; 1909
  • hangry – hungry + angry; 1918
  • Chunnel – channel + tunnel; 1920s
  • motel – motor + hotel; 1920s
  • meld – melt + weld; 1930s
  • ginormous – gigantic + enormous; 1948
  • frenemy – friend + enemy; 1950s
  • rockabilly – rock’n’roll + hill-billy; 1950s
  • televangelist – television + evangelist; 1958
  • bionic – biology + electronic; 1960s
  • workaholic – work + alcoholic; 1968
  • internet – inter [reciprocal] + network; 1970s
  • Microsoft – microcomputer + software; 1975
  • gaydar – gay + radar; 1980s
  • carjack – car + hijack; 1990s
  • cosplay – costume + play; 1990s
  • emoticon – emotion + icon; 1990s
  • metrosexual – metropolitan + heterosexual; 1990s
  • adorkable – adorable + dorky; 21st century
  • anticipointment – anticipation + disappointment; 21st century
  • Brangelina – Brad + Angelina; 21st century
  • bromance – brother + romance; 21st century
  • mansplain – man + explain; 21st century
  • advertainment – advertisement + entertainment; 21st century
  • permalance – permanent + freelance; 21st century

If you enjoyed reading this post, check out these posts on fossilized words, the problem with peas, or eponyms named after notorious personalities!

See the previous or next Fun Facts About English

Donald's English Classroom Kinney Brothers Publishing

CVC Activities are in abundance in Donald’s English Classroom! You’ll find flash cards, charts, and task cards ready to download and get your kids up and reading!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Fun Facts About English Tagged With: Donald's English Classroom, double letters, English language learners, esl, ESL Activities, ESL Flashcards, ESL Games, ESL teaching, esl textbooks, fun facts about english, humpty dumpty, Kinney Brothers Publishing Blog, lewis carroll, portmanteau

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Kinney Brothers Publishing

Kinney Brothers Publishing Catalogue

Guest Post

Guest Post

Donald’s English Classroom

Donald's English Classroom Catalog

Click to download!

USA Map Puzzle

Sign up and download for free!

Kinney Brothers Publishing 50 Plus Flash Card Activities

Click to see full listings!

Jooble Ad ESL Tutor Jobs

Weekly Fun Facts About English!

Fun Facts About English

Now in Japan!

Independent Publishers International
Kinney Brothers Publishing Kinney Brothers Publishing ©2018-All Rights Reserved Worldwide Contact