Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Early 20th century ·1926
Newscaster
news broadcaster
- Meaning
- A presenter of news on radio or television.
- Source words
- news + broadcaster
- Coined by
- Alwyn Bach
- Year
- 1926
Background
Bach, an NBC announcer, is credited with the term on-air; it spread fast through broadcasting trade press. Built on the older *broadcaster* (1922), itself built on agricultural *broadcast* (1767) — seed-sowing terminology reused for radio.
Early 20th century
Industrialisation generated new things that needed new names, fast. Motoring, electricity, telecommunications, and urban pollution all produced portmanteaus within a generation of their arrival.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.