Blends of Words: Portmanteaus or Portmanteaux +

(many blended words have entered English since the 1800's; a significant number of which are corporate brand names)

bionics: biology + electronics
1. Application of biological principles to the study and design of engineering systems, especially electronic systems.
2. A blend of biology and electronics.
  • Biology: The science of life and of living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution. It includes botany and zoology and all their subdivisions.
  • Electronics: Electronic devices and systems or the application of the conduction of electric charges in various media, including vacuums, gaseous media, and semiconductors.
blog: web + log
1. To write entries in, add material to, or to maintain a weblog; weblog.
2. A blend of web and log.
  • Web: An interconnected system of networks that connects computers around the world via the TCP/IP protocol (a protocol for communication between computers, used as a standard for transmitting data over networks and as the basis for standard internet protocols or standard procedures for regulating data transmissions between computers).
  • Log: A record, as of the performance of a machine or the progress of an undertaking.
brunch: breakfast + lunch
1. A meal typically eaten late in the morning as a combination of a late breakfast and an early lunch.
2. A blend of breakfast and lunch.
camporee: camp + jamboree
1. An assembly or gathering of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts on a local or district level.
2. A blend of camp and jamboree.
  • Camp: A place where tents, huts, or other temporary shelters are set up, as by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, soldiers, nomads, or travelers.
  • Jamboree: A large assembly, often international; especially, of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts
celtuce: celery + lettuce
1. A variety of lettuce, Lactuca sativa asparagina, having characteristics of both celery and lettuce which is eaten raw or cooked.
2. A blend of celery and lettuce.
  • Celery: The crisp thick leafstalks of a plant having edible roots, leafstalks, leaves, and fruits.
  • Lettuce: A common plant that is widely grown for its edible leaves, which are usually eaten in salads.
chortle: chuckle + snort
1. A snorting, joyful laugh or chuckle.
2. A blend of chuckle and snort.
  • Chuckle: A rough, noisy sound made by breathing forcefully through the nostrils, as a horse or pig does.
  • Snort: A rough, noisy sound made by breathing forcefully through the nostrils, as a horse or pig does.
galumph: gallop + triumph
1. To move or run clumsily or heavily.
2. A blend of gallop and triumph.
  • Gallop: The fastest pace of a horse, in which all four feet are off the ground at the same time or a fast movement similar to a horse's gallop made by any four-legged animal.
  • Triumph: An act or occasion of winning, being victorious, or overcoming something.
gasohol: gasoline + alcohol
1. A fuel used in motor vehicles that consists of 90 percent gasoline blended with 10 percent alcohol where the alcohol is produced by the fermentation of an agricultural product high in sugar, e.g. corn.
2. A blend of gasoline and alcohol.
  • Gasoline: A volatile flammable liquid made from petroleum and used as fuel in internal-combustion engines.
  • Alcohol: A colorless volatile flammable liquid which is synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches and widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent and in drugs, cleaning solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverages.
glasphalt: glass + asphalt
1. A road-surfacing material composed of asphalt and crushed glass.
2. A blend of glass and asphalt.
  • Glass: A hard, usually transparent substance that shatters easily composed of sand melted in combination with other oxides; such as, lime or soda and used as windows, bottles, lenses, etc.
  • Asphalt: A paving material composed mainly of asphalt and gravel that hardens on cooling and is used for making hard surfaces for roads, parking lots, sidewalks, etc.
guesstimate: guess + estimate
1. An estimate based largely on incomplete information or evidence.
2. A blend of guess and estimate.
  • Guess: To arrive at or to commit oneself to an opinion about something without having sufficient evidence to support the opinion fully.
  • Estimate: To make an approximate calculation of something.
meld: melt + weld
1. To cause things to combine or blend and become one thing or substance, or be combined or blended in this way.
2. A blend of melt and weld.
  • Melt: To change a substance from a solid to a liquid state by heating it or to dissolve something; such as, sugar in a liquid; or to be dissolved in a liquid.
  • Weld: To join pieces or parts of some material together by heating them and hammering or using other pressure to make them fuse together.
modem: modulator + demodulator
1. An electronic device that connects computers via a telephone line, allowing the exchange of information which consists of a modulator to convert computer information into a telephone signal and a demodulator to convert it back again. 2. A blend of modulator and demodulator.
  • Modulator: A device that makes alterations in the characteristics of the amplitudes, frequencies, or phases of waves, or the velocity of the electrons in electron beams.
  • Demodulator: The use of a nonlinear device in order to recover the original modulating frequencies, because these frequencies are not present in the modulated carrier and new frequencies cannot be produced by a linear device.
moped: motor + pedal
1. A motorbike that can be pedaled or driven by a low-powered gasoline engine.
2. A blend of motor and pedal.
  • Motor: A machine that converts energy into motion and can be used as a power source; for example, to drive another machine or to move a vehicle.
  • Pedal: A lever operated by the foot that powers a mechanism such as a bicycle, sewing machine, or the foot controls of a car.
motel: motor + hotel
1. A kind of "hotel" intended to provide short-term lodging for traveling motorists, usually situated close to a highway and having rooms accessible from a parking area.
2. A blend of motor and hotel.
  • Motor: Relating to vehicles, especially cars, powered by a motor.
  • Hotel: A building or commercial establishment where people pay for lodging, and where meals and other facilities; such as, conference rooms also are often available.
pennant: pennon + pendant
1. A small narrow triangular flag displayed on boats and ships for identification and signaling.
2. A blend of pennon and pendant.
  • Pennon: A long narrow flag, usually triangular, tapering, or divided at the end, originally carried on a lance by a medieval knight.
  • Pendant: An ornament or a piece of jewelry that hangs from a necklace, bracelet, or earring.