portmanteau

portmanteau
\ \ [16] A portmanteau is etymologically something for ‘carrying one’s mantle’ in. The word was borrowed from French portemanteau, a compound formed from portercarry’ and manteaucloak’ (source of English mantle). This originally denoted a ‘court official whose duty was to carry the king’s cloak’, but it was also applied to the bag in which he carried it, and hence eventually to any bag for carrying clothes and other items needed on a journey.
\ \ Cf.MANTLE, PORT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • portmanteau — (n.) 1580s, traveling case or bag for clothes and other necessaries, from M.Fr. portemanteau traveling bag, originally court official who carried a prince s mantle (1540s), from porte, imperative of porter to carry (see PORTER (Cf. porter) (1)) + …   Etymology dictionary

  • portmanteau — ► NOUN (pl. portmanteaus or portmanteaux) 1) a large travelling bag made of stiff leather and opening into two equal parts. 2) (before another noun ) consisting of two or more aspects or qualities: a portmanteau movie. ORIGIN French portemanteau …   English terms dictionary

  • Portmanteau — Port*man teau, n.; pl. {Portmanteaus}. [F. porte manteau; porter to carry + manteau a cloak, mantle. See {Port} to carry, and {Mantle}.] A bag or case, usually of leather, for carrying wearing apparel, etc., on journeys. Thackeray. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • portmanteau — [pôrt man′tō, pôrt΄man tō′] n. pl. portmanteaus or portmanteaux [pôrt man′tōz, pôrt΄mantōz] [Fr portemanteau < porter, to carry + manteau, cloak: see PORT3 & MANTLE] a traveling case or bag; esp., a stiff leather suitcase that opens like a… …   English World dictionary

  • Portmanteau — For other uses of Portmanteau , see Portmanteau (disambiguation). A portmanteau ( i/pɔrt …   Wikipedia

  • portmanteau — 1. noun /pɔːtˈmæn.təʊ,pɔːrtˈmæntoʊ/ a) A large travelling case usually made of leather, and opening into two equal sections. Rodolphus therefore finding such an earnest Invitation, embracd it with thanks, and with his Servant and Portmanteau,… …   Wiktionary

  • Portmanteau — Mit Portmanteau (auch: Portemanteau) werden in der Linguistik zwei zu unterscheidende Sachverhalte bezeichnet: 1. als Portmanteau Wort (Kofferwort, Kontamination) wird die teilweise Verschmelzung von Wörtern angesprochen, wie sie in Beispielen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • portmanteau — I. noun (plural teaus or portmanteaux) Etymology: Middle French portemanteau, from porter to carry + manteau mantle, from Latin mantellum more at port Date: 1579 1. a large suitcase 2. a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • portmanteau — port|man|teau1 [ pɔrt mæntɔu ] noun count OLD FASHIONED a large suitcase consisting of two parts that fold together portmanteau port|man|teau 2 [ pɔrt mæntɔu ] adjective LINGUISTICS a portmanteau word is made by combining the sound and meaning of …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • portmanteau — 1 noun (C) old fashioned a very large suitcase that opens into two parts 2 adjective (only before noun) formal a portmanteau word is made by combining the sound and meaning of two other words: Edutainment is a portmanteau word meaning education… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • portmanteau — UK [pɔː(r)tˈmæntəʊ] / US [pɔrtˈmæntɔu] noun [countable] Word forms portmanteau : singular portmanteau plural portmanteaus or portmanteaux old fashioned a large suitcase consisting of two parts that fold together …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”