Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Early 20th century ·1935
Cheeseburger
cheese hamburger
- Meaning
- A hamburger topped with melted cheese.
- Source words
- cheese + hamburger
- Coined by
- disputed
- Year
- 1935
Background
Multiple US diners claim to have coined it around 1935 — Kaelin's in Louisville, Denver's Humpty Dumpty Drive-In, Pasadena's Rite Spot. Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty trademarked the name in 1935; the product itself may be older.
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.