Where does “portemanteau” come from?
portemanteau (French) comes from French porte, from French porter, from English porter, from Middle English porter, from Old French portour, from Old French porter, from Old French -ment, from Latin -mentum — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.
portemanteau (French): coat stand, coat rack
Definitions
- coat stand, coat rack
Ancestry of “portemanteau”, step by step
portemanteau traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French porte
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | porte | door; gate; gateway, means, door |
| 2 | French | porter | to carry; to support, to bear; to wear |
| 3 | English | porter | A person who carries luggage and related objects;... |
| 4 | Middle English | porter | gatekeeper, doorkeeper |
| 5 | Old French | portour | carrier; bearer |
| 6 | Old French | porter | to carry; to carry a child |
| 7 | Old French | -ment | Used to form adverbs, most of the time equivalent... |
| 8 | Latin | -mentum | instrument, medium, or result of; e.g.... |
| 9 | Latin | -menta | nominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |