Portmanteau words

 I learned today that words which are blends of two words that combine the sounds and meanings of the two words are called "portmanteau" words. I already knew that a "portmanteau" is a French word for the kind of suitcase that opens in two halves.  The name comes from "porter" is "to carry" and "manteau" for "coat."

Some portmanteau words have become everyday, and no longer have the ability to startle us. Some examples in no particular order:  smog (smoke and fog); Medicare; Brexit; breathalyzer (breath analyzer); brunch; biopic (biographical picture); email (electronic mail), guesstimate; carjack (car hijack); anklet.

I still smile at words like "bromance" and "frenemy" (I have some of the latter) and I once met a "labradoodle" who had a golden tightly-curled coat and wanted to jump up on me and lick my face.

One memorable portmanteau word from literature is "slithy", which Lewis Carroll used in"Through the Looking Glass," as in "T'was brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe."  He explained that "slithy" meant "lithe and slimy", but I don't know what the other invented words mean. If I remember correctly, the whole poem seemed to be about a murder.

My favourite portmanteau words are "mansplaining", "snoopervisor", and "catastrophuck."


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