Saturdays are perfect days for pleasant surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about portmanteaus today!
You might not have heard the term “portmanteau” before, but you definitely know many of them. A portmanteau is a type of blend word that combines the sounds and meanings of two other words to create a more descriptive term.
Most portmanteaus create simple new words from simple old words, like brunch from breakfast + lunch or mansplain from man + explain. Some of the most interesting and descriptive portmanteaus derive from classical roots:
Edutainment (education + entertainment) describes any form of entertainment designed to be educational.
BREAKDOWN: E- (out) + DUC- (lead) + TAIN- (hold) + -MENT (action, state)A mockumentary (mock + documentary) is a fictional work presented in the style of a true documentary.
MOCK- (feigned, counterfeit) + -MENT (action, state) + -ARY (connected with)An advertorial (advertisement + editorial) is paid advertising that is designed to look like journalistic content in any form of media.
BREAKDOWN: AD- (towards) + VERT- (turn) + -OR (one who does) + -IAL (pertaining to)Animatronics (animation + electronics) refers to the practice and field of making and operating lifelike mechatronic (electromechanical) puppets, typically for use in film or other entertainment.
BREAKDOWN: ANIM- (life) + -ATE (to make or do) + ELECTRIC (charged with electricity) + -ON (ion) +IC (science or discipline)An emoticon (emotion + icon) is a depiction of a facial expression using standard characters like punctuation marks and symbols to express an emotion or reaction.
BREAKDOWN: E- (out) + MOT- (to move) + -ICON (image, picture)A biopic (biography + picture) is a biographical movie dramatizing the life of a particular person.
BREAKDOWN: BIO- (life) + PICT- (paint)A prequel (previous + sequel) is an artistic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, as opposed to a sequel, which is a continuation of a story.
BREAKDOWN: PRE- (before) + SEQU- (to follow)Stagflation (stagnation + inflation) is an economic term describing a continuous period of high inflation and unemployment.
BREAKDOWN: STAGN- (still; standing water) + FLAT- (to blow) + -TION (state of being, act of)A metaverse (meta + universe) is a shared, persistent, live, interactive digital universe.
BREAKDOWN: META- (beyond) + UNI- (one) + VERS- (turn back)dumbfounded (dumb + confounded) means speechless with amazement or astonishment, based on the traditional meaning of dumb.
BREAKDOWN: DUMB (mute, silent) + FUND- (pour) + -ED (state of)Glamping (glamorous + camping) describes any form of fancy, upscale, or luxurious camping.
BREAKDOWN: GLAMOR (magic spell) + CAMP- (make camp) + -ING (act of)My personal favorite is affluenza (affluence + influenza) This term refers to the inability of an individual to understand the consequences of their actions because of their social status or economic privilege and has been used as a legal defense. Interestingly affluenza is a portmanteau of two words that both derive from the root FLU-.
BREAKDOWN: A- (to) + FLU- (flow) + -ENT (inclined to) + the ending of influenza
“The word portmanteau itself is an appropriate embodiment of this word form, since portmanteau, which is French for porte (to carry) + manteau (cloak), describes a suitcase that opens in two halves. Portmanteaus ‘carry’ both meanings of their word pairs.” (OED)
An entry that a 'word nerd' would love. ❤️