|
|
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 28
newbie
|
OP
newbie
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 28 |
I'm unaware of the proper name for this, and was wondering if another wordy out there happened to know it.
A colleague and I were in stitches at a company meeting the other day because our esteemed president repeatedly employed the novel adjective, "stellular." Of course, we understood that this was some bizarre love child of "stellar" and "cellular," but why one would throw these two together (outside of a telecommunications business context where such a non-word might be considered oh-so-clever) escaped us totally. What is it called when we glom two words together like this? It's not really a malapropism, because that requires we use a word that actually exists. Solecism? Simple neologism? Anyone know?
More interestingly, is it just my biases that lead me to believe that 'Business English' is incredibly rife with this phenomenon? Anyone care to speculate as to why?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
The word whiner(?) asks for the correct name for collapsed words.
Like smog and chortle?
That would be portmanteau words. You could do a Search on portmanteau right here in AWADtalk and find something. We discussed this in your absence.
BTW, Welcome back.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
a portmantau word -- a portmantau was i think-- some sort of luggage-- that combined two different styles of into one-- and so two words run together to make a new word is a portmantau word-- M-W 10th uses smog as an example -- a blending of smoke and fog.
Alice in Wonderland is full of them-- and new ones pop up all the time -- Brunch comes to mind.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
I agree it's a portmanteau. What I keep asking myself is what two words portmanteau comes from, te-he.
In fact, the name 'portmanteau' comes from the master of them himself, the author of Through the Looking Glass and Alice in W., Lewis Carroll; something about a leather suitcase having two compartments I believe.
Anyway here are a few more:
twirl = twist & swirl
motel = motor hotel
.....
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
> 'Business English' is incredibly rife with this phenomenon? Anyone care to speculate as to why?
Business English advocates seem to love experimenting with language. There was a article in the NY Times which someone here URLed me to, where fulminations about their (mis)use of 'synergy' and other words are discussed by Mr. Safire. And that is probably one of their key concepts behind portmanteau wording, to create 'synergy', to use more affective and emotive language.
Mr Squiggle.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
kriegführend jugend keeps asking himself: what two words portmanteau comes from?
From the AHD:
French portemanteau, porte- from porter, to carry, from Old French, + manteau, cloak, from Old French mantel, from Latin mantellum.
So we see that portmanteau is, itself, not quite a portmanteau word. Perhaps our senior Pooh-Bah, tsuwm, can tell us if there is a word to describe a word that does not quite describe itself.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
> tell us if there is a word to describe a word that does not quite describe itself
Or the inverse there of would suffice
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
>> tell us if there is a word to describe a word that does not quite describe itself
>Or the inverse there of would suffice
this I can do: there is no word to describe a word that does not quite describe itself.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
tsuwm tells us there is no word to describe a word that does not quite describe itself.
Is there one for a word that does describe itself?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 393
enthusiast
|
|
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 393 |
Is there one for a word that does describe itself?
Autological. Examples: 'short', 'English', 'polysyllabic', 'autological'.
The opposite is heterological, examples being 'long', 'monosyllabic', 'German'.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,322
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
514
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
