According to OED (oxford english dictionary):
"A word formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meanings. Also more generally: a term or phrase which encompasses two or more meanings."
</language geekery>
(had to dig out a dictionary :/) According to OED (oxford english dictionary) a portmanteau is:
"A word formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meanings. Also more generally: a term or phrase which encompasses two or more meanings."
The key conditions here (each of which must be satisfied) are:
- constituents must be words
- blending sounds from the words
- combining meanings of the words
"blending sounds from two or more distinct words"
(note emphasis)
The word "brunch" is widely regarded to be a portmanteau, and does not consist of whole words.
This satisfies the 3 conditions:
- constituents must be words
"brunch" is a combination of "breakfast" and "lunch"
- blending sounds from the words
the beginning sounds like "breakfast" and the end sounds like "lunch"
- combining meanings of the words
described above.
-Constituents must be words
"cartelicious" is a combination of "cartel" and "delicious"
-Blending sounds from the words
the beginning sounds like "cartel" and the end sounds like "delicious"
-Combining meanings of the words
It's delicious cartel action, for repugnant values of delicious. I don't think this one is a strict requirement, in any case. This is getting a bit too pedantic.
Let's all agree that, before saying something like "a portmanteau, if you want to get technical", you are 100% sure that it is correct. Maybe that should be in the HN guidelines ...
I only brought up this issue because technically it's not a portmanteau (at least according to how OED and a bunch of other dictionaries define the word), and probably wouldn't have made a remark if the phrase "if you want to get technical" wasn't used ...
I lay down my guns ... now
If we believe the miscellaneous crowdsourcers of Urban Dictionary it comes to us by way of Beyoncé's coinage "bootylicious", which makes it pretty obvious that it derives from "delicious".
I'm amused by this part:
Parents and middle-aged talk show hosts often use this to parody the ghetto culture, much as they latched onto the suffix "izzle".
I do believe the Urban Dictionary has just called me a clueless white talk-show host! Oh well, if the shoe fits... ;)