The term for a blend of two words, such as “brunch” from “breakfast” and “lunch,” is portmanteau.
A portmanteau word combines parts of two or more words and usually merges aspects of their meanings. In brunch, the beginning of breakfast joins the end of lunch. Linguists and lexicographers also commonly call this formation a blend, lexical blend, or blend word.
The literary use of portmanteau is strongly associated with Lewis Carroll. In Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1871, Carroll used the idea of a portmanteau—a suitcase with two compartments—as a metaphor for a word carrying two meanings packed together. His explanation helped make the term popular in discussions of creative word formation.
Other familiar examples include smog from smoke and fog, motel from motor and hotel, and frenemy from friend and enemy. Not every shortened or combined expression is classified identically: some linguists distinguish true blends from clipped compounds or acronyms. That technical debate does not affect the quiz’s standard answer. “Palindrome,” “homograph,” and “synonym” describe entirely different word relationships.