Portmanteau
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /pÉ”Ëtˈmæn.təʊ/
- US enPR: pôrtmă'ntÅ, IPA: /pÉ”rtˈmæntoÊŠ/; enPR: pô'rtmăntÅʹ, IPA: /ËŒpÉ”rtmænˈtoÊŠ/
Origin 1
Alternative forms
- (travelling case) portmantua
From French portemanteau, literally porte ("carry") + manteau ("coat")
Full definition of portmanteau
Noun
- A large travelling case usually made of leather, and opening into two equal sections.
- 1667, Charles Croke, Fortune's Uncertainty:Rodolphus therefore finding such an earnest Invitation, embrac'd it with thanks, and with his Servant and Portmanteau, went to Don Juan's; where they first found good Stabling for their Horses, and afterwards as good Provision for themselves.
- (Australia, dated) A school bag; often shortened to port or school port
Origin 2
Coined by Lewis Carroll in to describe the words he coined in .
Noun
- (linguistics) A portmanteau word.
- 1872, Lewis Carroll, (), the first usage in this sense:Well, “slithy†means “lithe and slimy.†“Lithe†is the same as “activeâ€. You see it’s like a portmanteau–there are two meanings packed up into one word.
Synonyms
- (portmanteau word) blend, frankenword, portmanteau word
Adjective
portmanteau
- (used only before a noun, of a word, story, etc.) Made by combining two (or more) words, stories, etc., in the manner of a linguistic portmanteau.
- 2002, Nicholas Lezard, Spooky tales by the master and friends in The Guardian (London) (December 14, 2002) page 30:The overall narrator of this portmanteau story - for Dickens co-wrote it with five collaborators on his weekly periodical, All the Year Round - expresses deep, rational scepticism about the whole business of haunting.
- 2002, Nick Bradshaw, One day in September in Time Out (December 11, 2002) Page 71:We're so bombarded with images, it's a struggle to preserve our imaginations.' In response, he's turned to cinema, commissioning 11 film-makers to contribute to a portmanteau film, entitled '11'09"01' and composed of short films each running 11 minutes, nine seconds and one frame.