An ELT Glossary : Blends



Definition :  Blend is the linguistic term for what are also called "portmanteau words" -  ie words which have been coined by using parts of two other words - usually the beginning of one and the end of another.

Examples :  

  • Smog comes from smoke and fog
  • Brunch comes from breakfast and lunch
  • Motel comes from motor and hotel
  • Emoticon comes from emotion and icon
  • Podcast comes from iPod and broadcast

Further reading

Thornbury, S. An A-Z of ELT, Macmillan


Don't forget that Amazon often have both new and used copies of the books you want at prices lower than ythose advertised. it's always worth clicking to check it out)