frankenword

See also: Frankenword

English

Alternative forms

• Frankenword

Etymology

From franken- +‎ word.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹæŋkn̩ˌwɜː(ɹ)d/
• (US) enPR: frăngkʹ(ə)n-wûrd', IPA^(key): /ˈfɹæŋk(ə)nˌwɝd/

Noun

frankenword (plural frankenwords)

1. A word formed by combining two (or more) other words; a portmanteau.
   • 2005 December 15, Ruma Singh, “Know some good frankenwords?”, in Bangalore Times‎^[1]:

     But what's noteworthy is the smorgasbord of new vocabulary, including 'frankenwords' (words joined to create new words) which deal with everyday situations.

   • 2007 February 1, M. Thelwall, R. Prabowo, “Identifying and characterising public science-related fears from RSS feeds”, in Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, volume 58, number 3:

     Noun phrase identification is extremely time consuming and may incorrectly process new words that emerge during a debate, eg frankenwords invented during the genetically modified food debate.

   • 2009 Fall, Ann duCille, “Marriage, Family, and Other" Peculiar Institutions" in African-American Literary History”, in American Literary History, volume 21, number 3, →DOI:

     A combination of "salvation" and "sacrifice," the coinage "salvific" does not necessarily flow trippingly from the tongue, but the monograph hardly needs a frankenword to make the case for the enduring relationship between African-American letters and racial uplift.

Synonyms

• blend, portmanteau, portmanteau word, portmantologism

Related terms

• frankenfish
• frankenfood
• Frankenstein

Translations

portmanteau word — see portmanteau word