Portmanteau in the context of "Brexit"

⭐ In the context of Brexit, the term itself is considered an example of what linguistic phenomenon?

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⭐ Core Definition: Portmanteau

In linguistics, a portmanteau or blend, also known as a blend word or lexical blend, is a word formed by combining the meanings and parts of the sounds of two or more words. English examples include smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, and motel, from motor (motorist) and hotel.

In some languages, contamination refers to a subset of blends, where the words combined are synonyms or have similar meanings. This kind of blend can be deliberate or accidental. A blend is similar to a contraction. On one hand, mainstream blends tend to be formed at a particular historical moment followed by a rapid rise in popularity. On the other hand, contractions are formed by the gradual drifting together of words over time due to the words commonly appearing together in sequence, such as do not naturally becoming don't (phonologically, /d nɒt/ becoming /dnt/). A blend also differs from a compound, which fully preserves the stems of the original words. The British lecturer Valerie Adams's 1973 Introduction to Modern English Word-Formation explains that "In words such as motel..., hotel is represented by various shorter substitutes – ‑otel... – which I shall call splinters. Words containing splinters I shall call blends". Thus, at least one of the parts of a blend, strictly speaking, is not a complete morpheme, but instead a mere splinter or leftover word fragment. For instance, starfish is a compound, not a blend, of star and fish, as it includes both words in full. However, if it were called a "stish" or a "starsh", it would be a blend. Furthermore, when blends are formed by shortening established compounds or phrases, they can be considered clipped compounds, such as romcom for romantic comedy.

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👉 Portmanteau in the context of Brexit

Brexit (/ˈbrɛksɪt, ˈbrɛɡzɪt/; a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).

Brexit took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET). The UK, which joined the EU precursor, the European Communities (EC), on 1 January 1973, is the only member state to have withdrawn, although previously the territories of Algeria ceased to be part of the EC following its independence from the member state France in 1962 and Greenland (part of the Kingdom of Denmark) left the EC in 1985. Following Brexit, EU law and the Court of Justice of the European Union no longer have primacy over British law but the UK remains bound by obligations in treaties it has with other countries around the world, including many with EU member states and with the EU itself. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains relevant EU law as domestic law, which the UK can amend or repeal.

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In this Dossier

Portmanteau in the context of Kioichō, Chiyoda, Tokyo

Kioichō (紀尾井町) is a district located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Once a samurai town, the name of the district is a portmanteau derived from the names of the Kii clan, the Owari clan, and the Ii clan, all of whom had residences there during the Edo era. The Hotel New Otani Tokyo, Sophia University, Yahoo! Corporation, and Shimizudani Park are located within the district.

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Portmanteau in the context of Donbas

The Donbas (UK: /dɒnˈbɑːs/, US: /ˈdɒnbɑːs, dʌnˈbæs/; Ukrainian: Донбас [donˈbɑs]) or Donbass (Russian: Донбасс [dɐnˈbas]) is a historical, cultural, and economic region on the Russia-Ukraine border, lying predominantly in Ukraine. The vast majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War, as the Russian Armed Forces control about 89% of the region as of October 2025.

The word Donbas is a portmanteau formed from "Donets Basin", an abbreviation of "Donets Coal Basin" (Ukrainian: Донецький вугільний басейн, romanizedDonetskyi vuhilnyi basein; Russian: Донецкий угольный бассейн, romanizedDonetskiy ugolnyy basseyn). The name of the coal basin is a reference to the Donets Ridge; the latter is associated with the Donets river.

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Portmanteau in the context of Meridional French

Meridional French (French: français méridional; Occitan: francés meridional), also referred to as Francitan (a portmanteau of français and occitan), is the regional variant of the French language spoken in the area of Marseille, Avignon and Toulouse. It is influenced by the Occitan language.

There are speakers of Meridional French in all generations, but the accent is most marked among the elderly, who often speak Occitan as their first language.

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Portmanteau in the context of Wiktionary

Wiktionary (US: /ˈwɪkʃənɛri/ WIK-shə-nerr-ee, UK: /ˈwɪkʃənəri/ WIK-shə-nər-ee; rhyming with "dictionary") is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of terms (including words, phrases, proverbs, linguistic reconstructions, etc.) in a large number of natural languages and a number of artificial languages. These entries may contain definitions, images for illustration, pronunciations, etymologies, inflections, usage examples, quotations, related terms, and translations of terms into other languages, among other features. It is collaboratively edited by volunteers via a wiki. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki and dictionary. It is available in 198 languages and in Simple English. Like its sister project Wikipedia, Wiktionary is run by the Wikimedia Foundation, and is written collaboratively by volunteers, dubbed "Wiktionarians". Its wiki software, MediaWiki, allows almost anyone with access to the website to create and edit entries.

Because Wiktionary is not limited by print space considerations, most of Wiktionary's language editions provide definitions and translations of terms from many languages, and some editions offer additional information typically found in thesauri.

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Portmanteau in the context of Twitterature

Twitterature (a portmanteau of Twitter and literature) is a literary use of the microblogging service of Twitter. It includes various genres, including aphorisms, poetry, and fiction (or some combination thereof) written by individuals or collaboratively. The 280-character maximum imposed by the medium, upgraded from 140 characters in late 2017, provides a creative challenge.

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Portmanteau in the context of Netprov

Netprov is "networked, improvised literature" or collaborative literary improvisations performed on the internet. The word netprov is a portmanteau of "networked" and "improv" as in improvisational theatre. Netprov is considered a genre of electronic literature.

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Portmanteau in the context of The Hunting of the Snark

The Hunting of the Snark, subtitled An Agony, in Eight Fits, is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight portmanteau words from Carroll's earlier poem "Jabberwocky" in his children's novel Through the Looking-Glass (1871).

Macmillan published The Hunting of the Snark in the United Kingdom at the end of March 1876, with nine illustrations by Henry Holiday. It had mixed reviews from reviewers, who found it strange. The first printing of the poem consisted of 10,000 copies. There were two reprints by the conclusion of the year; in total, the poem was reprinted 17 times between 1876 and 1908. The poem also has been adapted for musicals, movies, opera, plays, and music.

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Portmanteau in the context of Glocalization

Glocalization or glocalisation (a portmanteau of globalization and localism) is the "simultaneous occurrence of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies in contemporary social, political, and economic systems". The concept "represents a challenge to simplistic conceptions of globalization processes as linear expansions of territorial scales. Glocalization indicates that the growing importance of continental and global levels is occurring together with the increasing salience of local and regional levels."

The adjective glocal means "reflecting or characterized by both local and global considerations". The term "glocal management" in a sense of "think globally, act locally" is used in the business strategies of companies, in particular by Japanese companies that are expanding overseas.

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