shortenings

Shortenings are word-formation forms created by reducing a longer word or phrase to a shorter, simpler unit. They are a common feature of many languages and registers, especially in informal speech, journalism, technology, and everyday conversation. Shortenings typically arise by clipping or truncating syllables or letters and then functioning as independent words or units within sentences. They may be written as standard words or in spellings that reflect their abbreviated origin.

In English, common shortenings include bus from omnibus, lab from laboratory, fridge from refrigerator, phone from telephone, photo from photograph, info from information, demo from demonstration, and ad from advertisement. Some shortenings become fully lexicalized and widely accepted in formal contexts (phone, lab), while others remain informal or specialized to particular communities (blog, mod, promo). Shortenings can result from initial clipping, medial clipping, or final clipping, and may or may not preserve recognizable links to the original form.

Shortenings are distinct from other abbreviated forms such as acronyms and initialisms, which are typically pronounced as sequences of letters (NASA, FBI) or as words derived from initial letters. In contrast, many shortenings are pronounced as regular words. The status of a shortening can change over time: it may remain a casual variant, or it can become part of standard vocabulary through frequency of use and lexicalization.

Cross-linguistically, clipping and related shortening processes occur in many languages, though the patterns and productivity vary by language and era.