portmanteau
[pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-; pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-]
- a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
- Also called portmanteau word. Linguistics. blend(def 10).
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Origin of portmanteau
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for portmanteau
Contemporary Examples
And yet, they got over it and would go on to earn the portmanteau "Merkozy."
Whichever way you look at it, the are-they-or-aren't-they couple earned the portmanteau Brittana and a lot of attention.
A portmanteau by way of the frontier, this term was given flight by Sarah Palin.
This longing for grimness actually has its own portmanteau word, ostalgie.
Historical Examples
They returned home just as it was growing dark, laden with basket and portmanteau.
Rico and WiseliJohanna Spyri
The other bundled some linen and brushes into the portmanteau.
The Incomplete AmoristE. Nesbit
He sought a steward, and asked him to carry the portmanteau to berth 159.
One Day's CourtshipRobert Barr
The young man said quietly to the steward, "Take out the portmanteau, please."
One Day's CourtshipRobert Barr
It requires a special genius, you know, to pack a portmanteau properly.
A Woman IntervenesRobert Barr
portmanteau
- (formerly) a large travelling case made of stiff leather, esp one hinged at the back so as to open out into two compartments
- (modifier) embodying several uses or qualitiesthe heroine is a portmanteau figure of all the virtues
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Word Origin
C16: from French: cloak carrier, from porter to carry + manteau cloak, mantle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for portmanteau
n.
1580s, "traveling case or bag for clothes and other necessaries," from Middle French portemanteau "traveling bag," originally "court official who carried a prince's mantle" (1540s), from porte, imperative of porter "to carry" (see porter (n.1)) + manteau "cloak" (see mantle (n.)).
Portmanteau word "word blending the sound of two different words" (1882), coined by "Lewis Carroll" (Charles L. Dodgson, 1832-1898) for the sort of words he invented for "Jabberwocky," on notion of "two meanings packed up into one word." As a noun in this sense from 1872.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper