19/5/13

Word of the week: chugger


Chugger (someone who is paid to stop people in the street and persuade them to give money regularly to a Charity - persona a la que pagan para que aborde a la gente en la calle, tratando de convencerlos para que den dinero de forma regular a una causa benéfica) is an example of blend, a type of word formation in which two words are combined to form a new word that incorporates their meanings, for example motel from motor and hotelChugger is made up of charity + mugger (caridad + 'atracador' en lugar público).
Another name given to blends is portmanteau words, a term invented by Lewis Carroll (1831-1898), who produced some of them in his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, for example to chortle (reír con ganas) = to chuckle + snort. Here are some more examples of blends:

brunch = breakfast + lunch (desayuno-almuerzo)

cheeseburger = cheese + hamburger (hamburguesa con queso)

chunnel =channel + tunnel (tunel bajo el Canal de la Mancha, Eurotunel entre Gran Bretaña y el continente europeo)

Eurovision = European + television (Eurovisión)

paratroops = parachute + troops (paracaidistas).

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