In the field of linguistics, when two words are combined into one word, the resulting new word is called a “blend word” or more specifically, as is the case with today’s Dictionary.com Word of the DayDictionary.com Word of the Day, a “portmanteau”. Wikipedia gives an excellent definition with examples for the word portmanteau:
A portmanteau word is a linguistic blend of words, in which parts of multiple words, or their phones (sounds), and their meanings are combined into a new word. A portmanteau word fuses both the sounds and the meanings of its components, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, or motel, from motor and hotel. In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph that represents two or more morphemes. (In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest grammatical unit in a language. In other words, it is the smallest meaningful unit of a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology.)
“Rollick” is thought to be the result of blending the words “romp” and “frolick”, entering the English language around the early 1800’s.
Were the early 1800’s particularly rollick-worthy? My inquiring mind needed to know! So I launched google in a search of historical events of the 1800’s (or 19th century). Here’s what I found:
| Historical Event | Rollick Meter |
| Napolean worked on building his empire conquering Italy, Rome and Spain, as well as transforming France from a consulate to an empire, with you know who as its Emperor! | Meh…not so much a rollicking series of events …unless of course, you were Napoleon! Was Napoleon known for rollicking? I wonder…:) |
| Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded in a duel (yes, duels really happened… SMH) with Aaron Burr. | Not so rollicky for old Alexander, but a good day for Mr. Burr. |
| Alessandro Volta produces electricity! | Definitely a rollick-worthy event! Woo Hoo Al! |
| The Battle at Waterloo…bub-bye Napoleon! | Yes there was rollicking…lots and lots of rollicking! |
| Lewis and Clark launch their expedition. | I’m thinking they may have had a rollicking send off. |
| Washington DC was established as the capital of the U.S. | More rollicking…I’m certain of it. J |
| In Virginia, Martha Washington set all her slaves free. | …and more. Midst the bad and usual ugly shenanigans we humans get involved in…there were definitely some bright spots…most definitely, some rollicking to be had! |
This is why I love Fridays! I learn so much! I hope you have a great weekend. Get out and rollick a bit! See you next week!
To Rollick or Not to Rollick…
Why simply frolick
or just romp, for that matter,
when one can rollick!
kat – 21 October 2016
