An ELT Glossary : Clipping

Clipping involves the reduction of a longer word or expression to a shorter one by excluding some of its syllables. For example :

• phone - from telephone
• photo - from photograph
• exam - from examination
• gym - from gymnastics or gymnasium
• flu - from influenza
• fridge - from refrigerator
• sitcom - from situation comedy

Clipped forms usually have the same denotation as the words that they are formed from, but may be associated with a more informal style than the original word.


Further reading

Thornbury, S. An A-Z of ELT, Macmillan