terms for words

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:09 PM -0500 3/25/05, Sam Clements wrote:
>What is the technical name for a word such as "gaydar?"

Hmm.  I guess I've always assimilated them to the category of blends,
although in principle we could distinguish between these examples and
the cases where neither component is an independent word, i.e. the
classic portmanteaux like "motel" and "smog"  In some cases, it's
hard to tell which way an item falls (netiquette, cremains).

>
>Also, for a word that is formed from the first syllable of two
>words, is there a technical name?  Is this still a portmanteau?
>And, what's the earliest word of this type?

I call them "clipronyms", since they're a cross between clipping and
acronymy, but I'd welcome a better label.  I wonder if German
wouldn't be the place to look for early examples, given the
exploitation of the process there (Nazi, Gestapo), although of course
the Soviets engaged in the same practice (Cominform, Comintern).  How
long has "Nabisco" been around?

>
>I assume that portmanteau is the technical name for taking the first
>syllable of one word and the final syllable of another and combing
>them to form a new word, such as motel.  I know that this word form
>goes back to at least Lewis Carrol.

At least Carroll's Jabberwocky ("chortle", "mimsy", etc.) is where
the "portmanteau" label originated.

Larry