Where does “portmanteau” come from?
Portmanteau comes from French portemanteau, a compound of French porter (to carry) from Latin portare and French manteau (cloak), blending a carrier with a garment.
portmanteau (English): A large travelling case usually made of leather,...
Definitions
- A large travelling case usually made of leather,...
Ancestry of “portmanteau”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | portemanteau | coat stand, coat rack |
| 2 | French | porte | door; gate; gateway, means, door |
| 3 | French | porter | to carry; to support, to bear; to wear |
| 4 | English | porter | A person who carries luggage and related objects;... |
| 5 | Middle English | porter | gatekeeper, doorkeeper |
| 6 | Old French | portour | carrier; bearer |
| 7 | Old French | porter | to carry; to carry a child |
| 8 | Old French | -ment | Used to form adverbs, most of the time equivalent... |
| 9 | Latin | -mentum | instrument, medium, or result of; e.g.... |
| 10 | Latin | -menta | nominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |