A malamanteau is a neologism for a portmanteau created by incorrectly combining a malapropism with a neologism. It itself is a portmanteau of malapropism and portmanteau.
The word was most famously defined in an XKCD comic and caused significant disruption in the wikipedia community.
It was most prominently featured as news on Slashdot
The wikipedia entry for malamanteau is currently under debate.
Notes:
- Not all malamanteaus are by nature neologisms. They simply need to be a combined word (portmanteau) that is used incorrectly in place of another correct word (malapropism).
- A malamanteau must have it's own separate meaning as a combined word (portmanteau)
- A malamanteau must sound similar enough to another word to be used incorrectly (malapropism)
Either way we'll post them if they sound good! :)
Send us your malamanteau suggestions
Malamanteaus are hard to think up, so help us come up with some good ones and we'll help keep the word alive.
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Remember, a malamanteau is the combination of a malapropism (similar sounding word) and a portmanteau (a combination of two words)
Showing posts with label XKCD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label XKCD. Show all posts
Malapropism
A malapropism is the misuse of a word which sounds like another correct word.
Examples:
Commiserate versus. Commensurate
Persecuted vs. Prosecuted
Elevate vs. Alleviate
Examples:
Commiserate versus. Commensurate
Persecuted vs. Prosecuted
Elevate vs. Alleviate
Portmanteau
A portmanteau is a blend of two words and their meanings into one new word.
Examples:
Smoke + Fog = Smog
Wiki + Encyclopedia = Wikipedia
Spiced + Ham = Spam
Examples:
Smoke + Fog = Smog
Wiki + Encyclopedia = Wikipedia
Spiced + Ham = Spam
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