The term ‘portmanteau word’ is now used by linguists to describe words such as ‘chortle’ and ‘slithy’ which combine, or blend, the sounds and meanings of two existing words. Alice also wonders what the words in Jabberwocky mean, so when she meets Humpty Dumpty, she asks him. They are infrequent in Spanish, however, are used as a popular source of brand names in Spain. In Through the Looking-Glass in 1871, Carroll, who was fond of making up words, made one up for Humpty Dumpty to explain to Alice some of the made-up words in Jabberwocky: “Well, ‘SLITHY’ means ‘lithe and slimy.’ ‘Lithe’ is the same as ‘active.’ You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.” As a noun in this sense from 1872. Other portmanteau words are slithy (first published as “slythy”—a combination of slimy and lithe), mimsy (the marriage of flimsy and miserable). "Portmanteau words" is now a standard name for such word blends. Some Jabberwocky-related words have entered the English language.

Portmanteau word "word blending the sound of two different words" (1882), coined by "Lewis Carroll" (Charles L. Dodgson, 1832-1898) for the sort of words he invented for "Jabberwocky," on notion of "two meanings packed up into one word." `Well, "slithy" means "lithe and slimy." The only words in Jabberwocky which Lewis Carroll described as portmanteaux are 'lithe' and 'mimsy'. (Other famous examples include ‘brunch’, from ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’, and, more recently, ‘chillax’, from ‘chill’ and ‘relax’.) Jabberwocky poem: Glossary for student to match to Portmanteau words. 7. portmanteau word A portmanteau word is "a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two different words." The word “portmanteau” was first used in this context by Lewis Carroll in the 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass (1871). - A portmanteau is a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel or brunch. Portmanteau words are rarer in other languages. A portmanteau is "a case used in … Jabberwock, fictional character, a ferocious monster described in the nonsense poem “ Jabberwocky,” which appears in the novel Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll.Alice, the heroine of the story, discovers this mock-epic poem in a book that she can read only when it is reflected in a mirror. "Lithe" is the same as "active." ‘What sounds meaningful reads like jabberwocky.’ ‘Penelope describes what this means and the agony and pleasure of streams of jabberwocky issuing forth from a man of words.’ ‘Herrera's portmanteau style and ludic impulse constitute a form of visual jabberwocky, in which the familiar is confidently manipulated and destabilized.’ Jabberwocky poem Glossary for student to match to Portmanteau words Humpty Dumpty's explanation of the word in Jabberwocky.