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What do you call a word that is the result of merging two words together?
For example, Maroon + Tuna = Marona, or Crab + Apple = Crapple, or Choking + Holding = Chokehold
The word is portmanteau.
It originally (and still) means a large suitcase. In through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll introduced a second meaning:
a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms (as smog from smoke and fog)
First appearance
In reference to the word mimsy, which is a portmanteau of miserable and flimsy,
"You see it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word."
The word is "like a portmanteau" because one word carries multiple contents, like a suitcase, and because the word portmanteau itself, is a portmanteau.
