what is portmanteau?

Answer 1

The literal meaning of portmanteau is:
"A large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments" [the TWO is important!]
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/portmanteau

In *Through the Looking-Glass* Lewis Caroll used this idea to explain (or rather have Humpty Dumpty explain to Alice) the meaning of various words in the poem "Jabberwocky" (words that Carroll had coined).


‘Well, “slithy“ means “lithe and slimy.” “Lithe” is the same as “active.” You see it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.’
. . .

‘, “mimsy“ is “flimsy and miserable” (there's another portmanteau for you). . . . '

Thereafter the expression "portmanteau word" became the standard way to describe a term that was formed by combining parts of two other words, and whose meaning is combined in the resulting word.
"Smog" from "smoke" + "fog" is, of course, a classic modern example. The popular game "pictionary" (picture + dictionary) is another. (I grew up with another such game, with an even better portmanteau. In "Fictionary" you had to find a word no one knew and have everyone make up a definition, mix these in with the real one and have people vote on which they thought was the actual meaning.)

The most successful of Lewis's own portmanteus --from later in "Jabberwocky"-- was "chortle", which combined "chuckle" and "snort".

Answer 2

A portmanteau (plural: portmanteaus or portmanteaux) is a term in linguistics that refers to a word or morpheme that fuses two or more grammatical functions. A folk usage of portmanteau refers to a word that is formed by combining both sounds and meanings from two or more words (e.g. 'animatronics' from 'animation' and 'electronics'). In linguistics, these folk portmanteaux are called blends. Typically, portmanteau words are neologisms.

Answer 3

Originally french word. Means suitcase, chest, trunk; word or morpheme formed from two other separate units (e.g. smog, formed from smoke and fog)