Call them blended words, Frankenwords, or by their more formal linguistic moniker, portmanteau. These mashup words are an indicator of the evolution of language. "Frankenword" itself is a Frankenword. There aren’t really any rules when it comes to creating them. Some make sense at first glance, while others are headscratchers.
How to make a Frankenword
Frankenwords arise out of necessity. A multi-word phrase is too clunky or it doesn't exactly fit the situation. So what is a wordsmith to do? Mash a couple of existing words together and make up a new one! Frankenwords are the ultimate form of linguistic resourcefulness, even if the inventions don’t make it to the dictionary.
Making them is easy. Hack off a couple syllables of two words, and stitch them together like Frankenstein’s monster. Usually this means taking the last syllables of one word and the first syllables of another and putting the parts together.
Thanks to the internet, anyone can create a portmanteau. Looking to procrastinate? Plug in some words and see what Frankenwords come out of this portmanteau generator.
Frankenwords in the Wild
Some of these words have broken from their slang status, and have ascended to a place in the dictionary.
- Spam (spiced + ham)
- Brunch (breakfast + lunch)
- Cockapoo (Cocker spaniel + poodle)
- Labradoodle (Labrador + poodle)
- Newscast (news + broadcast)
- Motorcycle (motorized + bicycle)
- Frenemy (friend + enemy)
- Bromance (brother + romance)
- Mockumentary (mock + documentary)
- Camcorder (camera + recorder)
- Dramedy (drama + comedy)
Frankenwords are the epitome of linguistic improv, but there are plenty of words like "newscast" and "motorcycle" that have been used for so long they’re hardly counted as portmanteaus anymore.