Portmanteau Words

Portmanteau Words Portmanteau Words Portmanteau Words By Simon Kewin The English language is constantly evolving. The meanings of words drift or even change completely. Sometimes words stop being used altogether and they die out. But at the same time new words are constantly being added.   These new words – neologisms – can be a source of some irritation to traditionalists, especially when there is already a perfectly good word that could have been used. But when neologisms work, when they fulfill a need, they can add greatly to the richness and diversity of the language.   A particular sort of new word are those formed when two existing words are merged to form a new one whose meaning, combines that of the two root words. These are called â€Å"portmanteau† words.   The word â€Å"portmanteau† originally meant a sort of large traveling bag. The writer Lewis Carroll, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland etc., was the first to use it to refer to a merged word. Carroll employed quite a few portmanteaux himself. The poem Jabberwocky, for example, contains the word â€Å"chortled†, probably created by combining â€Å"chuckle† and â€Å"snorted†. Similarly â€Å"mimsy† is generally taken as a mixture of â€Å"miserable† and â€Å"flimsy†. Both of these new words are now in the dictionary. For example, the OED defines chortle like this :  Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Ã‚   chortle:   verb laugh in a breathy, gleeful way.  noun a breathy, gleeful laugh.  ORIGIN coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass; probably a blend of CHUCKLE and SNORT. It’s likely that most people who use â€Å"chortle† are unaware it was a word made up in the 1870s.   There are now very many portmanteau words that have become accepted as valid in their own right : â€Å"smog†, â€Å"brunch†, â€Å"infotainment†, â€Å"dumbfound†, â€Å"fanzine†, â€Å"genome†, â€Å"sitcom† and so forth. They key point is that the meaning of the new word is mid-way between the two original words in some way.    Some portmanteaux are less successful. For example, it’s quite common to hear people using the ugly jargon-word â€Å"guesstimate† (or â€Å"guestimate†). This word, clearly, is a mixture of â€Å"guess† and â€Å"estimate†. But all-too often it is employed when â€Å"guess† or â€Å"estimate† would be perfectly clear and accurate.   So should writers feel free to just invent new words? Clearly many have done in the past. Shakespeare, for example, coined a variety of new usages. Perhaps the best advice would be to stick to existing words where they work as this helps keep your writing clear. At the same time, be aware that coining a new word is a possibility. In part it depends on what you are writing. It’s very common, for example, for reporters discussing some new scandal to form a portmanteau with the –gate suffix (i.e. as a reference to Watergate). Thus there is â€Å"Irangate†, â€Å"spygate†, â€Å"climategate† and so forth. A reader seeing one of these new words will instantly be able to grasp its meaning without its needing to be explained. If readers can’t make such an interpretation, however, they won’t know for sure what you intended by the word and your writing will suffer. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should Know20 Rules About Subject-Verb AgreementMay Have vs. Might Have

Hang, Hung, Hanged

Hang, Hung, Hanged Hang, Hung, Hanged Hang, Hung, Hanged By Sharon Hang derives from Old English and means to be attached from above without support below. This is one of the core meanings, as shown in the sentence: The picture hangs on the wall. However, there are several other related uses, for example: To let droop or fall – hang your head in shame. To fall in a certain way – this costume hangs well. To pay attention to – I hang on your every word. To hold on tightly – My daughter is hanging onto my skirt. A way of doing something – She couldnt get the hang of it. To be oppressive – a cloud of gloom hangs over him. The regular past tense of hang is hung, which would be used in all the examples listed above. However, there is one difference when it comes to hanging someone by the neck. In this case the past tense is hanged which means killed by hanging. Here are some quotations from the newspapers: before American forces chased him from his capital city and captured him in a filthy pit near his hometown, was hanged just before dawn Saturday during the morning call to prayer. (www.nytimes.com) Secrets,† he printed the pieces of personal data on sheets of paper using a special liquid solution. The sheets were hung in neat rows and columns on a wall. Museumgoers could only see the data under a special light source, and key (www.nytimes.com) Met Breuer in 2016-2017.After it was acquired for McCormick Square, the painting hung in the hallway of the convention center for years with very little protection, making it liable to theft or damage, (www.nytimes.com) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should KnowBroadcast vs Broadcasted as Past FormSentence Adverbs