- The portmanteau definition describes a word formed by blending the sounds and meanings of at least two other words.
- In Through a Looking-Glass (1871) he wrote: ‘You see, it’s like a portmanteau … there are two meanings packed up in the one word’.
- "Portmanteau" words pack two meanings into one word by taking part of one word and adding it to part of another.
- noun portmanteau word a coined word that is a combination of two other words in form and meaning; blend (Ex.: smog, from smoke and fog) 0.
- A portmanteau is a literary device which joins two or more words to create a new word. The word ‘portmanteau’ itself is a portmanteau.
- Examples[change | change source]. Portmanteau itself is an example, combining the French words for carry (porter) and coat (manteau) into a coat carrier.
- A quite recent portmanteau word that always makes me smile is the term for a flaky, iced pastry which is a cross between a croissant and a doughnut: A cronut!
- So many of the words created our dozens of neologism contests over the decades are portmanteau words, the combination of two words.
- a word arbitrarily formed of two distinct words. chortle , from chuckle and snort; cyclotron, from cycle and electron. ... Get the portmanteau word mug.
- portmanteau word in American English. a coined word that is a combination of two other words in form and meaning; blend (Ex.: smog, from smoke and fog).