Portmanteaus words (or portmanteaux words), known in French as mots-valises, are single words that have two meanings. The word portmanteau (coat rack) itself combines two words porter (wearing) and manteau (coat). If you look through recent dictionaries, you’ll realize there are numerous words from the tech world that include two words. There are many mots-valises in the French language. Words like franglais, pourriel and clavardage have really been adapted to our daily lives. Here are 10 French portmanteaus words and their origin.
10 French Portmanteaus Words
Franglais
Franglais is a mix of français (french) and anglais (english). These two words have become one because of the large influence of the English language in France and in other francophone countries. In France, the younger generations have really embraced English words and Anglicisms. In Montreal for example, the two languages spoken are English and French so people mix the two languages in sentences when they talk to their friends or close family members. It’s one of the most used french portmanteaus words.
Partagiciel
Partagiciel is a mix of partageable (shareable) and logiciel (software). A partagiciel is a shareware, software that you share, that you can use without paying for either a limited or unlimited amount of time. This is a great example of a portmanteau created for the tech world. This word wouldn’t have made any sense 30 years ago but now that most people use this kind of software every day, people need to invent new words to define shareable software.
Clavarder
Clavarder is the fusion of the word clavier (keyboard) and bavarder (chat). Again, this is an example of the growth of the tech industry and their need to of new words to express actions related to computers. Clavarder means to talk to other web users online. Since you’re using a keyboard to talk and not your voice, this word was invented to express “talking to someone through the computer”.
Pourriel
Pourriel is a mix of poubelle (garbage) and courriel (email) also known as junk mail or spam. The French wanted their own French word to express an unwanted email you receive in your inbox so they decided to mix two words and truthfully, we love it! Garbage mail is exactly what it is. You immediately put those kinds of emails in the email garbage so no wonder they would call it that.
Abribus
Abribus is the fusion of the word abri (shelter) and autobus (bus). It literally means a shelter for the bus. However, the word abribus is actually a registered trademark word since it was first proposed in 1964 in Lyon, France by the company JCDecaux. Before this, people would use a aubette to wait for buses or trams. No one says aubette anymore so abribus really stuck!
Adulescent
Adulescent is a mix of the words adulte (adult) and adolescent (adolescent). This is a term used to express someone who refuses to become a “real” adult. Some people find it very stressful to become an adult and have too much anxiety to take too many responsibilities. So, if you know someone who still acts like a child when they should be more independent and act their age, then you can call them an adulescent.
Vidéaste
Vidéaste is the combination of the words vidéo (video) and cinéaste (filmmaker). This is another portmanteau word that appeared because of the popularity of the tech world. Vidéaste means someone who creates and makes videos with a video camera. Many people on Youtube are amateur or professional vidéastes.
Motel
You might use the word motel without even knowing it’s part of the French portmanteaus words! Motel is the fusion of the word motor and hôtel (hotel). Motels are usually situated right on the road so people doing long road trips can easily stop to rest for the night. That’s why the two words were combined since usually, someone sleeps in a motel because they are travelling for long periods of time and don’t want to stop in a small town that’s out of the way.
Héliport
A héliport is a mix of the words hélicoptère (helicopter) and aéroport (airport). A héliport is an airport for helicopters that perform commercial transportations. These airports are usually quite small and include some hangars and fuel stations. Some people even have a héliport (or also known as a helipad) on their roof or large buildings can also have some on their roof.
Codec
Codec is a mix of the word codeur (coder) and décodeur (decoder). The word codec is another portmanteau related to the world of tech and some people just call it a codeur-décodeur. A codec is an electronic device that converts an audio or video analog signal into a digital coded signal. You can also use this device to do the contrary, which means you can convert an audio or video digital signal into an analog one.
Do you know any other French portmanteaus words? If you’re learning French, don’t forget to add these French portmanteaus words to your vocabulary list!
