Portmanteau Words

Have you come across words like infotainment and motorcade? These words are commonly used in discourses now a days. Do you know that some of such words that we use regularly in day-to-day life are, in fact, combinations of two distinct words? For example, infotainment is a blend of information and advertisement; and motorcade, motor and cavalcade.

When the sense and the sound of two words are packed into a single word, it is called a portmanteau word. Some parts of these two words are found in the new word. Sometimes, it is also known as a Blend. Portmanteau is pronounced as pot-man-tau.

Moped is a portmanteau of motor and pedal.

Brunch is breakfast and lunch.

Clash = clap and crash.

Edutainment = education and entertainment.

Electrocute = electricity and execute.

Intercom = Internal + communication

Netizen = Internet + citizen

Smog = Smoke + fog

Zonkey = Zebra + Donkey

Travelogue = travel + monologue

Workaholic = work + alcoholic

Do you know what to call when a lion and a tiger have cub? It is a Tigon!