Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·The Victorian portmanteau ·1812
Gerrymander
Gerry salamander
- Meaning
- To redraw electoral boundaries to favour a party.
- Source words
- Gerry + salamander
- Coined by
- Boston Gazette cartoonists
- Year
- 1812
Background
When Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting bill creating a salamander-shaped district, the *Boston Gazette* printed a caricature of the district as a salamander. The hybrid word stuck within weeks.
The Victorian portmanteau
Lewis Carroll didn't invent portmanteau-making, but he named the technique and demonstrated it with enough flair that the word-class is often traced to him. Two of the words here are direct Carroll coinages.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.