portmanteau

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /pɔrtˈmæntoʊ/ UK /pɔːtˈmæntəʊ/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
a large traveling bag; a word blending two others (e.g. smog)

Brunch is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large traveling bag; a... suitcase bag valise grip

Word family

Related forms port mantle

Etymology

From French portemanteau ('coat-carrier, cloak bag'), from porter ('to carry') + manteau ('cloak, mantle'). The 'blended word' sense was coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

portemanteau Middle French portare Latin mantellum Latin

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Topics

Describing Qualities

# portmanteau

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** pɔrtˈmæntoʊ
**IPA (UK):** pɔːtˈmæntəʊ

## Meanings
1. a large traveling bag; a word blending two others (e.g. smog)

## Examples
- Brunch is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.

## Synonyms
- suitcase
- bag
- valise
- grip

## Related Forms
- port
- mantle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: portemanteau
- Root: portare
- Root: mantellum

## Etymology
From French portemanteau ('coat-carrier, cloak bag'), from porter ('to carry') + manteau ('cloak, mantle'). The 'blended word' sense was coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

## AI Etymology
Portmanteau is from French portemanteau ('coat-carrier, cloak bag'), from porter ('to carry') + manteau ('cloak, mantle'). The 'blended word' sense was coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Important recorded forms include portemanteau (Middle French), portare (Latin), and mantellum (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers a large traveling bag; a word blending two others (e.g. smog). The wider family includes related words such as port and mantle.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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