Formation[edit]
Most blends are formed by one of the following methods:
The beginning of one word is added to the end of the other (see portmanteau). For example, brunch is a blend of breakfast and lunch.
simultaneous (5) + broadcast (2) → simulcast (3, exception)
smoke (1) + fog (1) → smog (1)
spoon (1) + fork (1) → spork (1)
The beginnings of two words are combined. For example, cyborg is a blend of cybernetic and organism.
Two words are blended around a common sequence of sounds. For example, the word Californication, from a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a blend of California and fornication, and the word motel is a blend of motor and hotel
Multiple sounds from two component words are blended, while mostly preserving the sounds' order. Poet Lewis Carroll was well known for these kinds of blends. An example of this is the word slithy, a blend of lithe and slimy.