Portmanteau
'Brunch' is two words fused
A portmanteau blends the sounds and meanings of two words. Brunch appeared in Victorian Britain from breakfast and lunch.
More in Portmanteau
'Smog' fused smoke and fog
A doctor coined smog in 1905 to describe London's lethal mix of coal smoke and river fog.
'Motel' merged motor and hotel
Roadside motels appeared with American car culture in the 1920s, and the blended word appeared with them.
'Podcast' merged iPod and broadcast
A journalist coined podcast in 2004. The device it named is discontinued, but the word outlived it.