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Does "portmanteau" only refer to single words like spork or turducken? If so what would be the term for multiple phrases combined together on a common word or words?

For example:

If I wanted to call someone from this site we'd have to "Stack Exchange numbers"

or

The velocity of ones vehicle when trying to make it through a yellow light might be "stoplight speed" (this just uses a compound word)

DorkRawk
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  • I think that the corresponding term for a phrase is "set/fix phrase, cliche'". But the examples you make are just a combination of nouns and adjectives (noun adjuncts) –  Feb 24 '17 at 07:16

1 Answers1

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You have tagged the category portmanteau-words. Then, portmanteau-sentences seems to be a natural analogue. You might even see portmanteau story [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/portmanteau]. Portmonteau without appendage is enough to identify the overall category, IMHO, so it might be used alone to describe words, sentences etc.

"Stack Exchange numbers"

get out :)

By the way, stop-light-speed would be just one word in german and I see no good reason against that combination, when you (and merriam webster) already wrote stoplight as a combination. You might insert dashes for clarity at will, too.

Hector von Vector
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  • I am not sure that "Stack Exchange numbers" or "spotlight speed" can be referred to as portmanteaux. *Portmanteau: a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms (as smog from smoke and fog)*. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portmanteau –  Feb 24 '17 at 07:34
  • Yeah, they'd have to become something like Staxnumbers and spolispeed. – Chris M Feb 24 '17 at 08:09
  • @Josh: then you should make that a proper answer and see if it's accepted – Hector von Vector Feb 24 '17 at 20:18