English for Students

English : Fantabulous

What does Fantabulous mean?

It's a combination of fantastic and fabulous. It means excellent or superb.It is a Portmanteau Word. A Portmanteau Word is the one that blend the sounds and the meanings of two words. The word Portmanteau is derived from the French word portmanteau, combined from porter (to carry) and manteau(mantle).

While these Words originated in 16th century, Lewis Carroll is credited with coining this word (in Through the Looking Glass) based on the fact that portmanteau bag is one that opens into two equal parts. The meanings of all such words are apparent from the combination.

Most of these words will not be found in standard dictionaries. But, the readers can use their grey cells in putting the meanings of the two and two together to deduce the meaning of these words. ( Brunch = breakfast + lunch ) & ( Email= electronic + mail )

For example:

• I saw a fantabulous dining table yesterday. I think I will buy it.

• The new restaurant is supposed to be fantabulous.

However, many such Words catch on and latch on to the lexicon. Others do not and simply fade away into silent sunsets, having enjoyed their 15 minutes of glory.

Here is the complete list of Portmanteau words that the visitors could use in their communication. The visitors are welcome to send in the Portmanteau words that they come across to us so that we will add those words in this list and will acknowledge the sender.

Here are a collection of Portmanteau Words.