Monday, September 12, 2016

Blends

Blends are words made from parts of two or more words. Unlike compounds, they do not combine full words. English makes extensive use of blends.

Here are examples of blends:

camcorder = camera + recorder
clash = clap + crash
electrocute = electricity + execute
infotainment = information + entertainment
flare = flame + glare
moped = motor + pedal
motel = motor + hotel
sitcom = situation + comedy
smog + smoke + fog
sportscast + sports + broadcast

In the blend sportscast, the first part of the blend consists of a full word. This is different from the other examples of blends. Eight of the ten blends are nouns and two are verbs. It appears that blends are most likely to be nouns.

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