Portmanteau Words ( linguistic blend of words)

 What are "Pormanteau" words?


Well interestingly enough a "Pormanteau" literally means a large travelling bag, typically made of stiff leather and opening into two equal parts: 



Based on the fact that it opens in TWO equal parts, a "Pormanteau" word is a blend of two different words. A shining example is the word "smog" (=νέφος) that derives from the words "smoke" and "fog". Several others: 

  • moped = motor + pedal (=μοτοποδήλατο = μοτέρ + πεντάλ)

  • modem = modulator + demodulator

  • motel = motor + hotel (=modem = διαμορφωτής + αποδιαμορφωτής)

  • dumbfound = dumb + confound (=dumbfound = χαζή + σύγχυση)

  • bash = bang + smash (= βίαιο χτύπημα = πάταγος+σπάσιμο)

  • hassle = haggle + tussle (= ταλαιπωρία = παζάρι + αναστάτωση)

  • web + seminar = webinar (web + σεμινάριο = διαδικτυακό σεμινάριο)

  • brother + romance = bromance (αδελφός + ρομαντισμός = στενή φιλία μεταξύ ανδρών)

  • friend + enemy = frenemy (=φίλος + εχθρός = λυκοφίλος)

  • hungry + angry = hangry (πεινασμένος + θυμωμένος = εκνευρισμένος λόγω έλλειψης φαγητού)


The video below offers a light-hearted look at how a few well-known portmanteaus have gotten their start.


Lastly, some MARKETING poRTMANTEAUS :



Listicle is an informal term for an article made up of a series of facts, tips, quotations, or examples organized around a particular theme.
Webinar an online seminar that turns a presentation into a real-time conversation from anywhere in the world.
Digeratithe elite of digitalizationsocial mediacontent marketingcomputer industry and online communities.

Edutainment A combination of entertainment with education: any type of entertainment aimed at entertaining and being educative
Subvertising is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements.
Webcasta media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers.
Netiquette = the rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over the Internet 
Advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content.