Portmanteau words

This is a word that is invented by combining the beginning of one word and the end of another, keeping the meaning of each.

• smog (smoke + fog) (n) - a form of air pollution that consists of a mixture of smoke and fog, especially in cities
• Telethon (television + marathon) (n) - a very long television programme broadcast to raise money for charity.
• Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge) (n) - the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, when they are taken  together
• Workaholic (work + alcoholic) (n) - a person who works very hard and finds it difficult to stop working
• Eurasia (Europe + Asia) (n) - the continents of Europe and Asia taken together.
• Brunch (breakfast + lunch) (n) - a meal that is eaten in the late morning as a combination of breakfast and lunch.

Coining New Words

1. Combining Forms
This is a form of word that can combine with another word or another combining form to make a new word.
Eg. Democracy, agoraphobia, technophobia, pseudo-science
-Cracy
‘-Cracy’ is a combining form used to indicate a type of government. You are all familiar with the term.
'Democracy':- a government by the people, of the people and for the people.
Down the centuries, the world has seen the rise and fall of several types of governments. Most of them are described using the combining form of ‘-cracy’. 
Here are a few of them.

• Kleptocracy- a govt. run by thieves
• Mobocracy- a govt. controlled by the mob.
• Meritocracy- a govt. by a class of people who have reached prominent positions through their merit.
• Aristocracy- a govt. by the nobility or privileged class.
• Theocracy- a rule by the priests on the basis of divine commands.
• Nomocracy- a govt. according to a code of laws.

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2. Portmanteau words
This is a word that is invented by combining the beginning of one word and the end of another, keeping the meaning of each.
Examples

• Motel - (motor + hotel) : It is a hotel for people who are travelling by car, with space for parking cars near the rooms.
• Infotainment (information + entertainment) : television programmes etc that present news and serious subjects in an entertaining way.
• Ginormous - (giant + enormous): extremely large

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