A portmanteau is a word formed by blending the sounds and meanings of two others. The new term carries elements of both parents.

“Brunch” combines breakfast and lunch; “smog” joins smoke and fog; “motel” merges motor and hotel. Lewis Carroll popularized the concept and the name, taking it from the dual-compartment suitcase. Modern English continues to generate portmanteaus, especially in technology, media, and informal speech—“podcast,” “infomercial,” “hangry.”

Successful portmanteaus feel inevitable once coined; awkward ones sound forced. They serve economy and wit, packing two ideas into a single compact form. Over time some enter the standard lexicon while others remain playful or ephemeral.

When two words are fused into one that inherits meaning from both, the result is a portmanteau.