“Jabberwocky” contains about twenty words that Lewis Carroll created, or coined, himself. Some of the words are literally nonsense in that they have no discernible meaning. Carroll uses these for emotional or sound effects. An example is the father’s elated cry, “Calloo! Callay!”

Most of the words are of the type called “portmanteau,” which means that they were created by joining two (or sometimes more) words. Each of these words may have several possible meanings, which the reader will infer from the root words in them. An example of a portmanteau word is “slithy,” which probably combines “slither” and “lithe.” These words together suggest that the noun they modify, “tove,” is a slender, agile animal such as a snake. But the word tove does not sound like a snake, in that it resembles “toad” and “dove.” Thus the combination of adjective and noun creates ambiguity, which add to the poem’s mysterious quality.

When his hero son returns, the father calls it a “frabjous day.” As it resembles “fabulous” and the context is positive, the reader can assume it is a celebratory term. Carroll seems to incorporate parts or sounds from several related words, such as “joyous” and “rapturous.” Other terms evoke negative qualities, as the father told him to “shun the frumious Bandersnatch.” Frumious is apparently derived from “furious” and “fuming.” The “snatch” portion of the creature’s name suggests that it can quickly grab its prey, while “bander” suggests a rat-like marsupial animal, the bandicoot.

Some of Carroll’s coinages have since become accepted in standard English, so that the reader might not realize that he invented them. One example is “galumph,” a word that incorporates “gallop,” indicating speed. The “umph” part may approximate the sound that heavy footsteps make, but may also be derived from “triumph.”