Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1952
Gasohol
gasoline alcohol
- Meaning
- A motor fuel blend of petrol and ethanol.
- Source words
- gasoline + alcohol
- Coined by
- US Nebraska agricultural chemists
- Year
- 1952
Background
Promoted by Nebraska farmers in the 1970s oil shocks as a use for surplus corn. The word existed earlier but mass usage is post-1973. Modern *E10* and *E85* fuels are gasohol by another name.
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.