portmanteau

[pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-; pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-]

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noun, plural port·man·teaus, port·man·teaux [pawrt-man-tohz, -toh, pohrt-; pawrt-man-tohz, -toh, pohrt-] /pɔrtˈmæn toʊz, -toʊ, poʊrt-; ˌpɔrt mænˈtoʊz, -ˈtoʊ, ˌpoʊrt-/. Chiefly British.

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).

Origin of portmanteau

1575–85; < French portemanteau literally, (it) carries (the) cloak; see port⁵, mantle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for portmanteau

bag, valise, luggage, gladstone

Examples from the Web for portmanteau

Contemporary Examples of portmanteau

And yet, they got over it and would go on to earn the portmanteau "Merkozy."
Francois Hollande: France’s Anti-Sarkozy President
Tracy McNicoll
May 7, 2012
Whichever way you look at it, the are-they-or-aren't-they couple earned the portmanteau Brittana and a lot of attention.
Most Memorable Kisses of the Year
Shefali Kulkarni
December 30, 2010
A portmanteau by way of the frontier, this term was given flight by Sarah Palin.
The 2010 Political Dictionary from A to Z
Samuel P. Jacobs
December 12, 2010
This longing for grimness actually has its own portmanteau word, ostalgie.
The Week in Polls
Adam Hanft
October 17, 2008

Historical Examples of portmanteau

They returned home just as it was growing dark, laden with basket and portmanteau.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri
The other bundled some linen and brushes into the portmanteau.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit
He sought a steward, and asked him to carry the portmanteau to berth 159.
One Day's Courtship
Robert Barr
The young man said quietly to the steward, "Take out the portmanteau, please."
One Day's Courtship
Robert Barr
It requires a special genius, you know, to pack a portmanteau properly.
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for portmanteau

portmanteau

noun plural -teaus or -teaux (-təʊz)

(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

Word Origin for portmanteau

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for portmanteau

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.