Portmanteau Words - Thierry Detournay

Portmanteau Words
The standard linguistic term for this type of word is a blend. It was Lewis Carroll in Through
the Looking Glass who coined the word portmanteau to describe them. Among several other
words Carroll created galumph, a combination of 'gallop' and 'triumph'.
A portmanteau or blend word is one derived by combining portions of two or more separate
words. Interestingly, portmanteau itself is a blend word, originating from the French
portemanteau, a compound formed from porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak).
Portmanteau words are used in various linguistic registers capitalising on the flexibility of the
English language to coin new words in order to match new human behaviours or
technological developments. Let us start with some classical ones …
brunch
Chunnel
fortnight
goodbye
moped 1
motel
motorcade 2
Oxbridge
paratroops
slang
smog
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
breakfast
channel
fourteen
God
motor
motor
motor
Oxford
parachute
slovenly 3
smoke
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
lunch
tunnel
nights
be (with)
pedal
hotel
cavalcade
Cambridge
troops
language
fog
+ ye (= you)
and go on with some compulsive behaviours.
chocoholic
shopaholic
netaholic
workaholic
=
=
=
=
chocolate
shop
net
work
+
+
+
+
alcoholic
alcoholic
alcoholic
alcoholic
sexcapade
sexting 4
spermathon
=
=
=
sex
sex
sperm
+
+
+
escapade
texting
marathon
Funny animal crossbreeding led to terms such as
liger
tigon
zedonk
1
=
=
=
vélomoteur ['mBLped]
cortège (de voitures)
3
négligé ['slHvBnlN]
4
the sending of raunchy (= torride) text-messages
2
lion
+
tiger
+
zebra (male) +
tiger
lion
donkey (female)
The broadcasting world is particularly well represented,
docudrama
fanzine
fictomercial 5
infomercial 6
Muppet
sitcom 7
telegenic
telethon
televangelist
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
documentary
fan
fiction
information
marionette
situation
television
telephone
television
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
drama
magazine
commercial
commercial
puppet
comedy
photogenic
marathon
evangelist
avionics
breathalyser 8
camcorder 9
cellophane
electrocute
intercom
multiplex
telex
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
aviation
breath
camera
cellulose
electronic
internal
multiple
teleprinter
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
electronics
analyser
recorder
diaphane
execute
communication
complex
exchange
affluenza 10
blaxploitation
econocrat
oilionaire
=
=
=
=
affluence
blacks
economist
oil
+
+
+
+
influenza
exploitation
bureaucrat
millionaire
croissandwich =
croissant
+
sandwich
medifraud
outpatient 11
=
=
medical
outside
+
+
fraud
patient
moonscape
seascape
cityscape
=
=
=
moon
sea
city
+
+
+
landscape
landscape
landscape
pulsar
=
pulsating
+
star
as well as the technological one.
Miscellaneous
5
work of fiction in which a writer is paid to incorporate the company's products into the story (= publifiction)
long-format television commercial ( = infopub)
7
humorous drama based on situations that might arise in day-to-day life (= comédie de situation)
8
alcootest
9
caméscope
10
unsustainable addiction to economic growth (= addiction maladive pour la croissance économique)
11
patient en consultation externe
6
Finally, it will come as no surprise that the computing and IT vocabulary is full of such word
formations.
bit
byte
=
=
blog
vlog
codec
emoticon
Internet
modem
netiquette
netizen
pixel
webinar
widget 12
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
binary
by
binary
web
video
compression
emotion
international
modulator
Internet
Internet
picture
web
window
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
digit
eight or
table
log
blog
decompression (module)
icon
network
demodulator
etiquette
citizen
element
seminar
gadget
Some among them have gained renown lately.
12
e-business
e-commerce
e-mail
e-tailer
e-zine
e-book
=
=
=
=
=
=
electronic
electronic
electronic
electronic
electronic
electronic
+
+
+
+
+
+
business
commerce
mail
retailer
magazine
book
adware 13
freeware
malware
middleware 14
shareware
spyware
=
=
=
=
=
=
advertising
free
malicious
middle
share
spy
+
+
+
+
+
+
software
software
software
software
software
software
podcast(er)
podcasting
podcatching
=
=
=
iPod
iPod
iPod
+
+
+
broadcast
broadcasting
catching
simulcasting =
webcasting =
simultaneous +
web
+
broadcasting
broadcasting
Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Wikipes
Wikileaks
wiki
wikipedia
wikipedia
wikipedia
encyclopaedia
dictionary
recipes
leaks
=
=
=
=
+
+
+
+
= stand-alone app embedded into a site (= petit outil qui permet d'obtenir des infos - météo, actualité,
dictionnaire, …)
13
logiciel publicitaire
14
intergiciel
My latest discoveries
Carmageddon 15
zoobotics 16
hacktivist 17
frauditing 18
Burgernomics
corporatocracy
phablet 19
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
car
zoo
hacker
fraud
Burger
corporation
phone
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Armageddon
robotics
activist
auditing
economics
autocracy
tablet
to be followed …
15
For some it is a pun on the end of times, for others on the eponymous and violent video game involving
vehicular combat, an appropriate metaphor.
16
[zubotiks] Animal-like robots
17
personnes qui défendent leurs idées en hackant des sites contraires à leur éthique
cfr. http://hacktiviste.org/ : cybermilitant
18
investigation of fraud by an auditor
19
an informal term for consumer touch-screen devices with screens that are between five and seven inches; it
combines the capabilities of a smartphone and mini tablet and occasionally incorporate a stylus. A phablet is
larger than most smartphones, but not as large as a tablet or mini-tablet