Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1971
Amtrak
American track
- Meaning
- The US national passenger rail service.
- Source words
- American + track
- Coined by
- Congressional naming committee
- Year
- 1971
Background
Created in 1971 when the federal government took over failing private passenger rail. The brand name was chosen from proposals including *Railpax*; the *-trak* spelling with *k* is stylised marketing, not a genuine reduction of *track*.
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.