Portmanteau
Etymology
From French portemanteau, a large traveling case, from porter ("to carry") + manteau ("cloak, mantle"). Lewis Carroll repurposed it in Through the Looking-Glass, having Humpty Dumpty explain that words like "slithy" pack two meanings "like a portmanteau" — a case with two compartments. That literary sense is the one that stuck.
noun · /port-MAN-toh/
A word made by blending the sounds and meanings of two others — "brunch," "smog," "podcast."
What it names
The packing trick behind half of modern slang — folding two words into one so the blend carries both meanings at once.
Example
Every product name in the pitch deck was a portmanteau, and "Nutritainment" was where I quietly gave up.
Related idea
Compound words simply join two whole words intact ("bedroom"); a portmanteau overlaps and clips them so the pieces fuse rather than merely abut.
noun · /port-MAN-toh/
A large travelling bag, traditionally stiff leather, hinged to open flat into two equal compartments.
What it names
the old-fashioned two-part suitcase
Example
He hauled a battered portmanteau onto the train.
Related idea
Lewis Carroll seized on the two-hinged bag as an image for a blended word — two meanings packed into one case; from French “porter” (to carry) + “manteau” (cloak).