Portmanteau Words

Portmanteau words mash together the sounds and meanings of two other words, or as Humpty Dumpty tells Alice in "Through the Looking-Glass," they pack two meanings into one word (portmanteau = suitcase or valise). Some portmanteau words paint vivid mental pictures, such as Lewis Carroll's slithy toves who are lithe and slimy at the same time. Others just describe things, such as smog (a blend of smoke and fog), infomercial (a lengthy commercial chock-full of product information), and Reaganomics (the Reagan-era, trickle-down economic policy).

Why not try your hand at making up your own portmanteau word? Is there some thought you've been trying to express that's really two thoughts in one? Are there two words that just seem to flow together well (e.g., picture + dictionary = pictionary)? Be serious, silly or totally off the wall. But most of all, be creative.
You can share your portmanteau word with us and visitors to the site by entering it in the first box, entering a definition in the next box and clicking the "Share your idea..." button below. This will place your idea in a file that others can access from the "See Portmanteau" button below.

Enter your portmanteau word in this box:


Give a definition of the portmanteau word in 20 words or less:

Need inspiration? To see what other people submitted, click "See Portmanteau" below.



A Word from Lewis Carroll | A Word from Humpty dumpty

Want some reading material that's just right for word buffs?

Click these links to books at Amazon.com.

Many portmanteau words have come into use since 1993, when Portmanteau Dictionary: Blend Words in the English Language, Including Trademarks and Brand Names was published, but it's a huge collection and you can pick it up used if you don't want to pay the steep price of a new copy.

Some other books of interest to word junkies...

You can also see portmanteau and other delightful word play in action in Lewis Carroll's writing. Check out Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass or Lewis Carroll: The Complete Illustrated Works: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, the Hunting of the Snark (Literary Classics)

If you love words, you'll love A Word A Day, a short but sweet word celebration.

And, even after all these years, The Joy of Lex is still one of the most entertaining books around.

Would you like us to generate a Random Combination Machine for your specialty?

Contact us to find out about this cost effective way of sparking new ideas for your work situation.

You might also want to check out our Random Adjective-Noun, and Random Verb-Adverb pages, as well as the main Creative Concepts Consulting homepage