portmanteau

[pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-; pawrt-man-toh, pohrt-] /pɔrtˈmæn toʊ, poʊrt-; ˌpɔrt mænˈtoʊ, ˌpoʊrt-/

noun, plural portmanteaus, portmanteaux

[pawrt-man-tohz, -toh, pohrt-, pawrt-man-tohz, -toh, pohrt-] /pɔrtˈmæn toʊz, -toʊ, poʊrt-, ˌpɔrt mænˈtoʊz, -ˈtoʊ, ˌpoʊrt-/ (Show IPA). Chiefly British

a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.

Origin

1575-85; < French portemanteau literally, (it) carries (the) cloak; see port⁵, mantle

Examples from the web for portmanteau

portmanteau film projects tend to be traps for second-rate work, but this collection is an exception to the dismal rule.
Share your favorite portmanteau words or invent your own.
It's a perfect example of a portmanteau word, a coined word that blends two other words in form and meaning.
Environmental management is somewhat of a portmanteau term that comprises many of the more academically accepted disciplines.
In the struggle the horse's bridle broke, and away went the horse into the woods, with a heavy portmanteau dancing at his side.
Biodiversity is a portmanteau word, from biology and diversity.

British Dictionary definitions for portmanteau

portmanteau

/pɔːtˈmæntəʊ/

noun (pl) -teaus, -teaux (-təʊz)

(formerly) a large travelling case made of stiff leather, esp one hinged at the back so as to open out into two compartments

(modifier) embodying several uses or qualities: the heroine is a portmanteau figure of all the virtues

Word Origin

C16: from French: cloak carrier, from porter to carry + manteau cloak, mantle

Word Origin and History for portmanteau

1580s, "traveling case or bag for clothes and other necessaries," from Middle French portemanteau "traveling bag," originally "court official who carried a prince's mantle" (1540s), from porte, imperative of porter "to carry" (see porter (n.1)) + manteau "cloak" (see mantle (n.)).

Portmanteau word "word blending the sound of two different words" (1882), coined by "Lewis Carroll" (Charles L. Dodgson, 1832-1898) for the sort of words he invented for "Jabberwocky," on notion of "two meanings packed up into one word." As a noun in this sense from 1872.