Do you know what is the similarity in the words Brexit and Motel!?
The NYT mini crossword is one of the best to get your guess fast and to gain some knowledge on the way!
The other day one of the words I learnt was called portmanteau!
The best thing was that it was a part of the clue and not the answer itself so if you have not yet solved it you are safe! By the way it was a couple of days back so if you have not yet solved it then let us not have much hope also!
So without beating round the PORT let us go to the word as such!
A portmanteau is a new word made by blending parts of two or more other words together.
It keeps the sounds and meanings of both original words. Common examples include brunch (breakfast + lunch) and smog (smoke + fog)!
The word has such an interesting history! And history we love!
So the word portmanteau comes from the Middle French word portemanteau, which combines porter (“to carry”) and manteau (“mantle” or “cloak”).
Originally it actually means a case for carrying clothes while its linguistic sense was coined by Lewis Carroll in 1871 to describe two meanings packed into one blended word!
The Roots in Physical Luggage which is actually from the French verb porter, meaning to carry and the French noun for a cloak or mantle!
In the 16th century, a porte-manteau first referred to a court official who carried a prince’s mantle. By the late 1580s, it shifted to mean a stiff leather traveling bag or suitcase—specifically one that hinged and opened into two equal compartments!
Lewis Carroll used the term figuratively in his 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass!
In the book, Humpty Dumpty explains the nonsense words in “Jabberwocky” (like slithy, meaning “slimy” and “lithe”) by comparing them to a two-part suitcase: “two meanings packed up into one word.”
The metaphor stuck, transforming the physical luggage name into the standard linguistic term for blended words!
Some of the popular examples apart from Brunch and smog also include Spork: Spoon + fork and Podcast: iPod + broadcast!
In fact even the lastest Brexit is portmanteau of Britain + exit!
Anyway it was not that important to know the meaning of portmanteau because the word is special but everyday we realise that what we know is simply a tiny drop in the huge ocean of knowledge! Like I also got to know that the full name of our Shetty anna is actually Suniel Veerappa Shetty!
A quick sketch and a quicker blog on another busy day!
Shubh ratri!
ramadocblog 