Just how did a 19th century French suitcase come to represent a unique category of words?
It was Lewis Carroll that provided the connection. In his children's book Through the Looking Glass, Humpty Dumpty explains that a portmanteau is a word with two meanings packed into one.
In truth, a “portmanteau” is itself a portmanteau!
Its name is derived from combining the French words porter (meaning “to carry") and manteau (meaning “cloak”).
Webstorian
from Webster and historian
We couldn't resist making a portmanteau of our own.
a few local portmanteaus
Newman's Own
Sockarooni
from Sock (hit forcefully) and "A-Roonie (a nonsensical suffix)"
Three Heads Brewing's
Rochestafarian
from Rochester and Rastafarian
Eastman Kodak's
Kodachrome
from Kodak and Chrome (chroma)
Portmanteaus
Kodachrome
from Kodak and Chrome
Randomly generated snazzy words
WEBSTER MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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