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Oxford Dictionaries define a portmanteau as

A word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel or brunch.

I've also heard the term apply to three- and four-word combinations, but I'm not sure if it's correct. For my blog, I wanted to describe the Latin word obstaculum, which is a combination of three Latin terms, and while I could use combination or portmanteau without anyone noticing, I began wondering if there are any terms that specifically describe three- or four- word mergers (in that the word is exclusive to the number). I also wanted to know if a portmanteau can correctly be applied if used for more than two words.

Any help?

etymologynerd.com
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    Wikipedia describes the word Satanarchaeolidealcohellish (from a children's book by Michael Ende) as a portmanteau of the words Satan, anarchy, archaeology, lie, ideal, alcohol and hellish. So presumably there's no better word for three-, four- or seven-word mergers in English. – Peter Shor Apr 02 '17 at 23:46
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    The book was translated from the German, where the Kofferwort was satanarchäolügenialkohöllisch. – Peter Shor Apr 02 '17 at 23:50
  • Dictionary.com gives portmanteau ... N ... 2. Also called portmanteau word. Linguistics. blend (def 10). and blend ... N ...

    Linguistics. a word made by putting together parts of other words ...

     – Edwin Ashworth Apr 02 '17 at 23:56
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    Yeah, the correct term is threewordportmanteau. – Hot Licks Apr 03 '17 at 00:29
  • If you need a name for a three-word merger, how about tripodmanteau? – Peter Shor Apr 03 '17 at 03:54
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    Isn't obstaculum a core verb, modified by a prefix and turned into a noun by the addition of a suffix rather than a word made up of three individual words? Do 'ob-' and '-culum' really count as words? I appreciate you might still want to describe the fact that 'obstaculum' has three parts, but can't you just say it 'has three parts' or hass a 'three-part construction'? – Spagirl Apr 03 '17 at 10:14
  • @PeterShor - No, that's two sesquipedalian words. – Hot Licks Apr 04 '17 at 22:02
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    A portmanteau that refers to three words is called: *portmanteau: In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph that represents two or more morphemes*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau –  Apr 05 '17 at 06:18
  • related: 1. What do you call the process of combining two words to create a new one? 2. Are there rules for constructing portmanteaux? 3. What to call expressions like “Google-Fu” – Mari-Lou A Apr 05 '17 at 14:35
  • Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) confirms the definition that Josh cites: "portmanteau n (1579) ... 2 : a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct words (as smog from smoke and fog)." The correct term is indeed portmanteau. An example of a portmanteau word drawn from three base words is Komsomol, the Soviet youth organization, whose source words (in Russian) are Kommunistichesky (communist), Soyuz (alliance), and Molodyozhi (young people). – Sven Yargs Apr 07 '17 at 23:03
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    Similarly, if you cross-bred a half-Labrador-retriever/half-poodle with a half-chow/half-chihuahua, you would presumably get a litter of Labradoodlechowahuas. It's still a portmanteau, albeit it an overstuffed one. – Sven Yargs Apr 07 '17 at 23:14
  • For an interesting though rather fragmentary discussion of whether the word Delmarva (from Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) in the place name Delmarva Peninsula is a blend, a portmanteau, a syllabic abbreviation, a clipping compound, or an acronym, see this Wikipedia page. – Sven Yargs Apr 11 '17 at 20:20
  • managed 'polymanteau' – JMP May 20 '17 at 03:25

3 Answers3

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I can't seem to find a word for a three-part portmanteau; I kind of doubt it exists. But I think you could use a phrase like tripartite portmanteau, which I think would make sense to most people. Or slap a prefix on, such as tri-portmanteau, but I think that could be confusing.

And all this makes me think, maybe the best phrase is simply three-part portmanteau.

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The word you're looking for is portmantrio. (portmanteau + trio)

Heartspring
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Friedrich Will
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    Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Apr 27 '23 at 16:48
  • Hey @Community bot: the answer was itself a portmanteau. Friedrich: I pronounce the last syllable of portmanteau “tu” so how about “portmanthree”? – Damila Apr 27 '23 at 17:27
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Wikipedia defines a portmanteau as:

a single morph that represents two or more morphemes

So perhaps the word you are looking for is portmanteau.

Assuming this is not the answer you want, we need to look further afield, and perhaps invent a new word to cover this gap in the English language.

Here is my proposal:

We can see from the Wikipedia article that portmanteaux are popular in lots of languages. The one that caught my eye was Indonesia, and the mega city:

Jabodetabek

This mega city is defined as Jakarta and its suburbs, namely:

  • Jakarta
  • Bogor
  • Depok
  • Tangerang
  • Bekasi

So I looked up the meaning of mega:

(originally) Very large, great. Denoting a size larger than usual.

amongst others.

It is derived from the Ancient Greek 'μέγας' (mégas, “great, large, mighty”), and as such I feel it would make an excellent prefix.

I originally came up with megaportmanteau, but I think:

megamanteau

is the word we are looking for.

JMP
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    Except that word is a novel coining and no one will know what it means until you define it for them, every time you use it. It's a little misleading to say "X is the word we're looking for", implying we found it, when we actually invented it on the spot to meet the specific purpose. – Dan Bron Apr 08 '17 at 12:04
  • While I kind of agree with Dan Bron's comment, personally, I think the word sounds good to use as is :D. – Teacher KSHuang Apr 10 '17 at 11:52
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    just because we're talking about made-up words doesn't mean we should make up words to define made-up words. –  Apr 10 '17 at 19:57