2nd Question of the Week Poll Results: Is that snirt or a portmanteau I see there?

The majority of voters this past week were correct in saying that snirt is a noun. Snirt is found in the Midwest at the end of winter. It is the combination of snow and dirt found on the side of roads and in parking lots. The word (snirt) itself, which is a combination of the words snow and dirt, is what is considered a portmanteau word. Portmanteau words are those that are formed by combining the sounds and meanings of two different words. They are considered a linguistic blend.


The reason this type of linguistic blend is called a portmanteau word comes from the meaning of the word portmanteau. A portmanteau is a type of bag or suitcase used in Europe that carries mixed items. Thus a portmanteau word carries a mix of words.

Slithy (lithe and slimy) and mimsy (flimsy and miserable) are some well known portmanteau words created by Lewis Carroll that appear in "Through the Looking Glass."

Obama's Dog Could Be a Portmanteau

Will Obama choose a Labradoodle or a Portuguese Water Dog - this was the topic of an article in the April 13th Newsweek. A Labradoodle is the combination of a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle.

Human-engineered, canine combinations are known as hybrids or "designer dogs"...I think a better name for these canine combinations would be "portmanteau dogs."

In linguistics, portmanteau words are those that are formed by combining the sounds and meanings of two different words; they are considered a linguistic blend. A canine blend combines the sounds (of breed names) and meanings (of characteristics) of different breeds.

Here are some examples:

Bernedoodle = Bernese Mountain Dog + Poodle
Bullmation = Bulldog + Dalmatian
Chipins = Chihuahua + Pinscher
Labrottie = Labrador Retriever + Rottweiler
Maltepoo = Maltese + Poodle

So maybe if Obama goes with a Labradoodle he could name it Portmanteau and call it Port for short.

Click here for additional posts about portmanteaus.

Click here for additional posts about Obama.

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POST UPDATE 04/16/09

Obama did go with the Portuguese Water Dog and his name is Bo. Even though he didn't choose the "portmanteau dog" he still could have named the new dog Port for Portuguese Water Dog.

Create a Portmanteau Word Contest

Contest Time Again

Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the Most Unusual Word Contest this past spring. There were many great entries and some outstandingly unusual winning words. The contest was so enjoyable that I thought it would be fun to have another contest. What kind of contest? Well, the recent posts about creative portmanteau words got me to thinking, "Why not create some more?" To refresh your memory - Portmanteau words are those that are formed by combining the sounds and meanings of two different words.

Please follow the directions below and enter to win "A Walk in the Words" T-Shirts and other prizes.

To enter: Please submit a portmanteau word of your own creation that is precise and economical (ex. from last week's post - afterthoughtful) by clicking on the comment button below.

Please include your name, city where you are located, and an email address.

You may enter as many portmanteau words as you can create.

Like the Most Unusual Word Contest from the spring, the winners will be selected by a panel of judges including me and devoted Walk in the Words readers Lori and Tanya.

The contest deadline is Sunday, 10/12/08

Portmanteau-ver and Over

I enjoyed last week's portmanteau word, afterthoughtful, so much that I thought I would give some more examples of portmanteau words (words that are formed by combining the sounds and meanings of two different words).

Older Portmanteau Words:
Electrocute (electric + execute)
Pixel (picture + element)
Telethon (telephone + marathon)
Chortle (chuckle + snort)
Brunch (breakfast + lunch)
Motel (motor + hotel)
Camcorder (camera + recorder)
Rockumentary (rock + documentary)

More Recent Portmanteau Words:
Guesstimate (guess + estimate)
Internet (international + network)
Blog (web + log)
Smirting (smoking + flirting) came about when offices went no smoking (employees go outside to take a cigarette break and end up flirting with each other)
Emoticon (emotion + icon)
Chillax (chill + relax)
Generica (generic + America)
Irritainment (irritate + entertainment)
Swipeout (swipe + wipeout) referring to swiping a credit card when the magnetic strip is worm out
brickormortis (brick + rigormortis) referring to the poor state of the housing market
Blamestorming (blaming + brainstorming)
Bromance (brother + romance) strong male friendship

Many of these words are a result of morpheme combinations.

A Portmanteau-Titled Word Book

As a word lover, I have always enjoyed reading books about words and I have just heard about a new word book that I plan on purchasing based solely on the one-word name of the book. The name of the book is an outstanding portmanteau word that was created by the author. I love the word for two reasons: it is the perfect portmanteau to describe what the book is about and it is just plain fun to say.

Anonyponymous

Anonyponymous, as its subtitle reveals, is about, "the forgotten people behind everyday words." The author, John Bemelmans Marciano, has written about eponymous words including cardigan, crapper, and frisbee and about the people for whom these words were named.

In talking about John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, Marciano states the following:

"He is a man who is almost anonymous despite the eponymous use of his name in everyday language."

For the record, here are the definitions that lend themselves to the success of the portmanteau word: (from http://www.thefreedictionary.com)

e·pon·y·mous
adj. Of, relating to, or constituting an eponym.

ep·o·nym
n. A word or name derived from the name of a person.

a·non·y·mous
adj. Having an unknown or unacknowledged name

It really is a fun word to say. Give it a try...anonyponymous

More New Portmanteau Words

In honor of the Create a Portmanteau Word Contest, here are a few more newly created portmanteau words from the October "Word Fugitives" column by Barbara Wallraff in the Atlantic Magazine.

A reader was looking for a good word to describe things like ATMs or drugstores "that seem ubiquitous when you aren't looking for them but that are nowhere to be found when you are"?

The responses from other readers included the following portmanteau words -

neverywhere (never + everywhere)
fewbiquitous (few + ubiquitous)
elusiversal (elusive + universal)

What wonderful combinations of morphemes.

Simpsons, Meet the Simpsons

I grew up watching The Flintstones; however, as I do not watch much TV these days I was surprised to find out that the expression "meh" came from The Simpsons. This discovery was made when I commented about my sons' frequent use of the word "meh" on an Engine Room post about neologisms. When I made the comment I had no idea where the word came from; I was simply stating my dislike for the expression. Thank you for filling me in J.D.

By the way, my teenage sons also tell me they are "hungy" all the time and it drives me crazy because I think they are speaking in baby talk. Little did I know, the word "hungy" is also a Simpson's coinage.

I now know that there are numerous Simpson's Dictionaries and word lists all over the Internet (too many to give credit to) and I certainly don't want to take away from any of them, but in honor of my sons' summer vacation I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Adultivity: The state or condition of being an adult.

Banjologist: An expert in banjo based musical styles.

Beginualize: A portmanteau of "actualize" and "begin."

Car Hole: A garage.

Craptacular: A portmanteau of "crappy" and "spectacular."

Deceleratrix: The service brakes on a car.

Embiggen: To make something better. The opposite of belittle.
Introubulate: The act of getting someone into trouble.

Jerkass: A portmanteau of "jerk" and "jackass."

Knowitallism: A word that describes Lisa Simpson’s personality.

Learning juice: Beer.

Malparkage: The state or condition of being illegally parked.

Poindextrose: The chemical which is emitted by geeks, dorks, and four-eyes.

Pointy kitty: A rat.
Telepanhandling: A portmanteau of "telemarketing" and "panhandling."

and last but not least, my personal favorite

Word hole: A mouth.

For the boys:
Meh: An expression of adolescent indifference.
Hungy: Homer’s pronunciation of the word “hungry,” shortened because of hunger strike fatigue (not baby talk, to my surprise).

Here is a link to one of the more thorough Simpson's word lists I came across at wikiSimpsons.

Subway's Poor Portmanteau Choice

Am I the only one who has a problem with the name of Subway's new menu item?

There are just too many options for the phonetic realization of the neologism.

To start with, where are the syllable breaks? Is it fla/ti/za or flat/iz/a? Which syllable should be stressed? Also, if it is made to rhyme with pizza, it sounds like either fla/teets/a or flat/eets/a, depending on the syllable break.

I get that it is a portmanteau of flatbread + pizza. But it sure is a phonetically problematic portmanteau.

Portmanteau Fruits

Having discussed portmanteau words last month in relation to a type of furniture, I thought I would mention some interesting hybrid fruit names I have seen that are portmanteau words.

According to Wikipedia, Zaiger's Genetics (a fruit breeding company from Modesto, California) holds the following trademarks:

Aprium — a patented hybrid of 2/3 apricot and 1/3 plum

Nectaplum — a hybrid of nectarine and plum

Nectarcot — a hybrid of nectarine and apricot

Peacotum — a hybrid of peach, apricot and plum

Pluot — a patented hybrid of 2/3 plum and 1/3 apricot

And there is also the plumcot, similar to a pluot, which was credited to and named by Luther Burbank.

And, of course, there is now the Grapple, which is not actually a hybrid fruit but an apple infused with grape flavor.

By the way, even with the diacritic over the letter "a" and the "Say 'Grape - L'" in the tag line, I still find myself using the "apple" pronunciation and thinking that I would not want anyone grappling with my apple.

Contest Reminder

Don't forget to enter the Create a Portmanteau Word Contest. Also, there has been a change to the rules - you are now permitted to enter as many portmanteau words as you can create.

More Portmanteau Foods - Chalsa

Just spotted this ad on my Yahoo homepage. Next time I have some portmanteau fruits, I just may have to have a side of chalsa in which to dip them. I do love portmanteaus.

Unusual Words Defined A - Z (Part R)

A continuation of the series.

rusticle
n. An icicle-like rust structure formed underwater on rusting iron. [Blend of rust and icicle.]

Earliest Citation:
Dr. Robert Ballard, head of a research team currently photographing the sunken luxury liner, said yesterday the vessel's exquisite woodwork has all but disappeared....The ship, inside and out, is covered with stalactite-like icicles of rust or 'rusticles,' he said.—Barbara Yaffe, "Rust 'icicles' drape hull of Titanic," The Globe and Mail, July 17, 1986

From: Word Spy

Image from: library.thinkquest.org

P.S. In linguistics blended words are often referred to as portmanteau words from the French word for a suitcase with two compartments. Click here for more on portmanteau words.

New Portmanteau Word Spotted - Greenternship

This is a screen print from craigslist with an ad for a new type of internship (third ad from the top on Wednesday April 22nd).

Recycling for Charities Summer Greenternship

The opened ad specifies that this charity is seeking qualified interns and that "candidates should have an interest/knowledge of green issues and initiatives."

So this is an internship with a charity that is concerned with green initiatives...which gives us a new portmanteau word: green + internship = greenternship.

Portmanteau Bumper Stickers

In a post a week or so ago I mentioned my new hobby of Geocaching. Look what happens when a Geocaching sticker is added to a linguistics sticker -

These two bumper stickers need not be alien. And, they actually portmanteau quite well.

Geo Sticker

Ling Sticker

A Portmanteau That Really Fits the Bill

What a fun portmanteau word; however, according to Australian-Wildlife.com, there is no other type of platypus so the term "duck-billed" platypus is redundant.

Another linguistically interesting fact from Australian-Wildlife.com is that "there is no agreed term for the plural of platypus, with platypus, platypoda and platypuses all being used."

A Portmantational Word (Portmanteau + Sensational)

For word lovers like myself, the Atlantic Magazine runs a column called "Word Fugitives" by Barbara Wallraff. The July/August column included responses to a woman's request for a word to describe her husband's " uncanny ability to to ask if I need help with a household task at the exact moment that I am finishing it." Of the many words that readers suggested, the one that was judged to be the "most precise and economical" expression for this ability of the woman's husbands was, not surprisingly, a portmanteau word.

afterthoughtful (afterthought + thoughtful)

What a sensational word. The next time my husband offers to help with something after the fact I will be sure to thank him for his afterthoughtfulness.

Flexible Portmanteau Word Formation - Flexitarian

I just read an article about a practice called "flexitarianism" in the January 11, 2010 issue of Newsweek. While the article was indeed quite interesting, the part I found most interesting was the word "flexitarian".

According to thedailygreen.com, the American Dialect Society named the word "flexitarian" the "most useful word of the year" in 2003. The word is defined as a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.

The reason I found the word so interesting has to do with the way it was formed.

Considering that the word "vegetarian", according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, is an irregular formation from vegetable (n.) + -arian, as in agrarian, etc. , a first instinct might be to wonder why the word "flexitarian" wouldn't have just been "flexarian" or "flexibarian.

Consider the following list of words that have been formed with the "-arian" suffix:

abecedarian
apiarian
authoritarian
barbarian
celibatarian
disciplinarian
grammarian
libertarian
nuditarian
octogenarian
parlamentarian
riparian
totalitarian
utilitarian
veterinarian
vocabularian
vulgarian

From this list, each of the words that include the "t" + "arian" have roots + suffixes that would include the "t" with or without the additional "arian" suffix (ex. authority, liberty, nudity). The same cannot be said for "flexitarian"; there is no word "flexity".

So what gives?

When properly analyzed, "flexitarian" is not formed by taking a root morpheme and adding two suffixes like many of the words from the above list. "Flexitarian" is a portmanteau word. It is a blend of the words "flexible" and "vegetarian".

flexible - flexi

vegetarian - tarian

Portmanteau Furniture a.k.a. Frankenfurniture (Frankenstein + Furniture)

A good friend recently brought an unusual portmanteau word to my attention -

There is a store in Gaylord, Michigan called The Old Spud Warehouse that sells, what they claim to have named, "Frankenfurniture."

The following photos and wording are shown as they appear on The Old Spud Warehouse website:





"It Lives!!!!
FRANKENFURNITURE (noun): a spudword refering to discarded vintage pieces brought to life by combining parts to make useable furniture...
oh so spudly!!!"


Aside from the fact that referring is spelled with two "r"'s and the preferred spelling of usable does not include an "e", what I found interesting is that this website was created in 2007 and since 2005 there has been a definition on the Urban Dictionary website which defines frankenfurniture as, "crappy/cheap furniture you have to put together yourself. Usually made of particle board, wood by-products, etc. and has obscenely difficult instructions for something that should be relatively simple. I got the cutest new desk from IKEA but when I got it home it was total frankenfurniture!"

A Word is a Word - or is it?

With all the new words that appear daily (portmanteau or otherwise) have you ever wondered how new words achieve dictionary-inclusion status?

In answer to this question - It is up to the almighty dictionary editors. New words are located by dictionary editors through magazines, newspapers, and various other media including online sources. If a word is found frequently enough in various sources with the same meaning and if the editors think the word has long-term staying power then there is a good chance the word will make it into the dictionary's next update.

Phonemetry - The Schwa

Phoneme + Poetry = poetry about phonemes

A curvaceous young phoneme called schwa
Said "I never feel strong. It's bizarre!
I'm retiring and meek
And I always sound weak
But in frequency counts - I'm the star!"

from One Stop English

I saw this poem while looking for additional IPA resources for my students. I immediately fell in love with it and thought I would share it with my readers.

P.S. The portmanteau is my creation.