portemanteau

French

Alternative forms

• porte-manteau

Etymology

Univerbation of porte (“carry”, second person singular imperative) +‎ manteau (“coat”).

Noun

portemanteau m (plural portemanteaux)

1. coat stand, coat rack

Usage notes

This word does not mean portmanteau, which is rather translated as mot-valise.

Further reading

• “portemanteau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.