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Shoterning

Sergeichuk SL

Shortening is the process and the result of forming a word out of the initial elements (letters, morphemes) of a word combination

Shortening

To make a new word from a syllable (or two) of the original words. The latter may lose it’s beginning (telephone – phone, defence — fence), it’s ending (holidays – hols, advertisement- ad), or both the beginning and the ending (influenza – flu, refrigerator — fridge)

To make a new word from the initial letters of a word group:

U.N.O – United Nation Organization, B.B.C. and et c.

Types of Shortening

clipping

acronyms

blending

abbreviation

C l i p p i n g

is a type of word-building shortening of spoken words

m e d i a l clipping (or s y n c o p e , from Greek «syncope» a cutting up), e.g., fancy (fantasy), ma’am (madam) .

f i n a l clipping (or a p o c o p e , from Greek «apokoptein» — cut off), e.g., cap (captain), gym (gymnasium, gymnastics) , lab (laboratory), ed (editor ) ;

i n i t i a l clipping (or a p h e s i s , i.e. a p h e r e s i s , from Greek «aphairesis» — a taking away ), e.g., cap (captain), phone (telephone), story (history), chute (parachute ) ;

may be combined and result in the curtailed words with the middle part of the prototype retained, e.g., flu (influenza), frig (refrigerator), tec (detective )

structure of the prototype

shortened words correlated with w o r d s , e.g ., cabbie (cabman), nightie (nightdress), teeny (teenager) ;

shortened words correlated with p h r a s e s , e.g. , finals (final examinations), perm (permanent wave), pop (popular music), pub (public house), taxi (taximeter-cab ).

The process of formation is also called t e l e s c o p i n g , because the words seem to slide into one another like sections of a telescope . E.g., brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog), smaze (smoke + haze), slimnastics (slim + gymnastics ) .

B l e n d i n g is a type of compounding by means of merging parts of words into new one word .

coining a new word from the initial elements of one word and the final elements of another, e.g. , drunch (drink + lunch), skort (skirt + short ) ;

combining the initial elements of one word with a notional word, e.g., mobus (motors + bus), legislady (legislative lady) .

coining a new word by combining one notional word arid the final element of another word, e.g., manglish (man + English), radiotrician (radio + electrician );

A b b r e v i a t i o n is a type of shortening when words are formed from the initial letters of each part of a phrasal term. Abbreviations are pronounced as a series of letters, i.e. the alphabetical reading of the letters is retained. E.g., B.B.C. (The British Broadcasting Corporation), M.P. (Member of Parliament), P.M. (Prime Minister), T.V. (Television), Y.C.L. (The Young Communist League ).

A specific type of abbreviations having no parallel in Ukrainian is represented by Latin abbreviations, which are not read as Latin words but substituted by their English equivalents , e.g., a.m. (ante meridium) – in the morning; p.m. (post meridiem) – in the afternoon;

Definition

Exampels

A c r o n y m s (from Greek «acros» end + «onym» name) are abbreviated words formed from the initial letters of word-combination; the abbreviated written form lends itself to be read as though, it were an ordinary English word and sounds like an English word.

  NATO   /neitou/ — The North Atlantic Treaty Organization,  UNO  /ju:nou/ — United Nations Organization,  SALT   /solt/ — Strategic Arms Limitation Talks,  radar  – radio detecting and ranging;  laser   – light amplification stimulated emission radio;  maser  – microwave amplification stimulated emission radio.

Christian names in acronyms:

Fred  – fast reading electric device;

Oscar  – orbiting satellite;

Eva   – electronic velocity analyzer.

1100+ Short form of words in English Texting and Chatting. This list of 1100 short form of words in English with meanings are used in texting and online chatting with friends. You can use these short words in your texting and chatting.

Short form of words in English

LOML —–Love Of My Life

SAE —–Stamped/Self Addressed Envelope

UTI —–Urinary Tract Infection

LBVS —–Laughing But Very Serious

ITM —–In the Mouth

EOTW —–End Of The World

NIAMY —–Never In A Million Years

DTP —–Disturbing The Peace

TYBG —–Thank You Based God

ROH —–Ring of Honor (wrestling)

YDMS —–You Don’t Make Sense

IYO —–In Your Opinion

AO —–Adults Only

LSP —–Love Sick Puppy

TYS —–Thank You Sir

RAS —–Remote Access Server

BFITW —–Best Friend In The World

OOMM —–Out Of My Mind

RFQ —–Request For Quotation

RATM —–Rage Against the Machine (band)

JSYK —–Just So You Know

YTMND —–You’re The Man Now, Dog (website)

YRMV —–Your Results May Vary

CCIE —–Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert

OY —–Oh Yeah

Common Abbreviations list

TWOC —–Taken Without Owner’s Consent

NCO —–Non-Commissioned Officer

ITOY —–I’m Thinking Of You

KIRF —–Keeping It Real Fake

IDK —–I Don’t Know

YTP —–YouTube Poop

TMN —–Touch Me Not

BG —–Bad Game Baby Gangster

WOTAM —–Waste of Time and Money

TGIM —–Thank God It’s Monday

TW —–Trigger Warning

OJT —–On Job Training

AD —–Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord)

GWI —–Get With It

NER —–Non-Existent Relationship

NY —–New York

AT&T —–American Telephone & Telegraph

IHYDM —–I Hope You Don’t Mind

VA —–Various Artists

KTF —–Keep The Faith

MGM —–Male Genital Mutilation

HAY —–How Are You

WTH —–What/Where/Who The Hell

AR —–Assault Rifle

PFB —–Please Find Below

IMWTK —–Inquiring Minds Want To Know

HYD —–How Ya Doing?

BBR —–Blonde, Brunette, Redhead

HTBT —–Had To Be There

JCB —–J C Bamford (excavator manufacturer)

BC —–Before Christ

YOLO —–You Only Live Once

WDYWFM —–What Do You Want From Me?

SSC —–Safe, Sane, Consensual

FYEO —–For Your Eyes Only

DLS —–Dirty Little Secret

JLY —–Jesus Loves You

LOMO —–Lights Out, Missionary Only

NSF —–Not Sufficient Funds Not So Fast

TGFT —–Thank God For That

LRG —–Lifted Research Group (clothing)

STY —–Same To You

WOTS —–Word On The Street

GFU —–Good For You

AIO —–All In One

ALG —–Ain’t Life Grand

NYSE —–New York Stock Exchange

JSP —–Java Server Pages

LHYW —–Like Hell You Will

YGI —–You Got It

IKHYF —–I Know How You Feel

LDO —–Like Duh, Obviously

TYMBI —–Thought You Might Be Interested

NOMB —–None Of My Business

SNF —–So Not Funny

NMW —–No Matter What

MYSM —–Miss You So Much

DOE —–Depends On Experience

TPB —–The Pirate Bay

BBBW —–Big Beautiful Black Woman

WDYM —–What Do You Mean?

RAC —–Rock Against Communism

YSVW —–You’re So Very Welcome

YITB —–Yours In The Bond

USA —–United States of America

MTYK —–More Than You Know

You can Learn American and British Slang words.

Short form of words in chat

UV —–Unpleasant Visual

MIRL —–Meet In Real Life

PLR —–Private Label Rights

GTO —–Gran Turismo Omologato

KIR —–Keepin’ It Real

OOH —–Out Of Here

HMB —–Hit Me Back (reply)

OMWH —–On My Way Home

MTC —–More To Come

GG —–Good Game

MOS —–Mom Over Shoulder

DRT —–Dead Right There

IDKY —–I Don’t Know Why

ILYSDM —–I Love You So Damn Much

TNB —–There’s Nothing Better

MSF —–Male Seeking Female

TFA —–Thanks For Asking

LYMY —–Love You, Miss You

ILMO —–In Loving Memory Of

SOA —–State Of Alert (band)

SOAG —–Son Of A Gun

PBN —–Paintball Nation

TMTH —–Too Much To Handle

TYFYT —–Thank You For Your Time

LMPO —–Laughing My Pants Off

GN —–Good Night

AON —–All Or Nothing As Of Now

ILM —–I lige m

IGS —–I Guess So

MGS —–Metal Gear Solid (game)

TFLN —–Texts From Last Night

UTS —–Under The Skin

LMS —–Like My Status Last Man Standing

IHDK —–I Honestly Don’t Know

DNS —–Domain Name Service Did Not Start

MTV —–Music Television

HDYK —–How Do/Did You Know?

CMI —–Count Me In

YP —–Your Problem Yes, Please

LDA —–Long Distance Affair

BNP —–British National Party

SBS —–Step By Step

HSL —–Hue, Saturation, Lightness

MFG —–Mit Freundlichen Gruessen (German)

WBN —–Would Be Nice

HAYT —–How Are You Today?

PEBCAC —–Problem Exists Between Chair And Computer

TOTD —–Tip Of The Day Tweet Of The Day

ACTA —–Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

IJS —–I’m Just Saying

LTIC —–Laugh Til I Cry

RC —–Random Chat Radio Controlled

NOI —–No Offense Intended

IAC —–In Any Case

LH —–Living Hell

SND —–Search And Destroy

OML —–Oh My Lord

NPO —–Never Pull Out

STYL —–Speak To You Later

HGTV —–Home and Garden Television

WOF —–While On Fire

HVD —–Happy Valentine’s Day

NFI —–No Freakin Idea

YNK —–You Never Know

LRF —–Low Resolution Fox

WOE —–What On Earth

NJPW —–New Japan Pro Wrestling

OTW —–On The Whole

ITS —–I Think/Thought So

MTG —–Magic  The Gathering (game)

TOD —–Time Of Death Time Of Day

AOK —–Age of Kings (game) All OK

NTM —–Not Too Much Nothing Much

JLUK —–Just Letting You Know

OMS —–Oh My Science

GBWY —–God Be With You

LRL —–Laughing Really Loud

PFC —–Private First Class

IITWI —–In It To Win It

RO —–Ragnarok Online ( )

MHR —–Many Happy Returns

ITO —–In Terms Of

OTR —–On The Run

NLM —–No Laughing Matter

BBC —–British Broadcasting Corporation

TCBY —–The Country’s Best Yogurt

GLTY —–Good Luck To You

NOLY —–No One Likes You

IKLY —–I Kinda Like You

PLUR —–Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect

MGO —–Metal Gear Online (game)

WTTJ —–Welcome To The Jungle

TDH —–Tall, Dark, and Handsome

GWK —–Game Winning Kill

PDF —–Portable Document Format

ILS —–Inflated Lat Syndrome

HFFA —–Hot From Far Away

IWBB —–I Will Be Back

FYI —–For Your Information

IAWTP —–I Agree With This Post

LART —–Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool

OTO —–One Time Only

JFYI —–Just For Your Information

ICBINB —–I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

BBT —–Be Back Tomorrow

GSOH —–Good Sense Of Humor

OCD —–Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

WTHIT —–What The Hell Is That?

LATM —–Laughing At The Moment

ONNTA —–Oh No, Not This Again

PKB —–Pot, Kettle, Black

PS & QS —–Pints and Quarts Please and Thank Yous

PDOA —–Public Display Of Affection

YMBJ —–You Must Be Joking

Short form of words for texting

PPS —–Post-Post Script

USBM —–United States Black Metal

PB —–Personal Best

TCG —–Trading Card Game

EOE —–Equal Opportunity Employer

MLIB —–My Life Is Bro

STW —–Search The Web

SA —–Sibling Alert

KMN —–Kill Me Now

LE —–Limited Edition Law Enforcement

AGM —–Annual General Meeting

IME —–In My Experience

ERP —–Erotic Role-Play

IBTD —–In Before The Delete I Beg To Differ

WRU —–Where Are You?

IGU —–I Give Up

OGK —–Only God Knows

PDG —–Pretty Damn Good

TML —–Thank Me Later Text Me Later

GHD —–Good Hair Day

ICYMI —–In Case You Missed It

OOM —–Out Of Mana ( )

ATT —–At This Time All The Time

IYWW —–If You Were Wondering

WWU —–Where Were You?

IDT —–I Don’t Think

ILYSM —–I Love You So Much

HH —–Holding Hands

NFT —–No Further Text

TFLMS —–Thanks For Letting Me Share

SOTA —–State Of The Art

NBF —–New Best Friend

MHOTY —–My Hat’s Off To You

RAM —–Random Access Memory

IHAC —–I Have A Customer…

JTOL —–Just Thinking Out Loud

HSM —–High School Musical

YDEK —–You Don’t Even Know

LIHOP —–Let It Happen On Purpose

LYT —–Love You Too

MTW —–Mum’s the Word

RHD —–Right Hand Drive

USC —–University of Southern California

LLAP —–Live Long and Prosper

ITP —–Inside The Perimeter

ABG —–Asian Baby Girl

TTJASI —–Take This Job And Shove It

NMJCU —–Not Much, Just Chillin’, U?

HBY —–How About You?

WML —–Wish Me Luck

LOA —–Leave of Absence

TWYL —–Talk With You Later

LAN —–Local Area Network

BCF —–Best Cousin Forever

NLI —–Not Logged In

RTFAQ —–Read The FAQ

INBD —–It’s No Big Deal

SAHW —–Stay At Home Wife

LYR —–Love You Really

AFAICS —–As Far As I Can See

NFS —–Not For Sale

ATV —–All Terrain Vehicle

GDI —–God Damn It

HGH —–Haters Gonna Hate

OHS —–Operator Head Space

IIUC —–If I Understand Correctly

IWID —–It’s What I Do

GL —–Good Luck Good Looking

SNR —–Signal To Noise Ratio

BNI —–Batteries Not Included

ILY —–I Love You

SATA —–Serial Advanced Technology Attachment

TFFW —–Too Funny For Words

GFTW —–Go For The Win

WYF —–What’s Your Favorite …?

LYA —–Love You Always

WIWWY —–What Is Wrong With You?

LBR —–Loser Beyond Repair

ADSL —–Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

GGOH —–Gotta Get Outta Here

NCAA —–National Collegiate Athletic Association

BHH —–Bless His/Her Heart

NRFB —–Never Removed From Box

WNDITWB —–We Never Did It This Way Before

NLA —–No Longer Available

IGNB —–I’m Going Now, Bye

RFT —–Right First Time

AAT —–And Another Thing At All Times

WSUL —–Will See You Later

YBWM —–You Belong With Me

IIRC —–If I Remember Correctly

POV —–Point Of View

GMT —–Greenwich Mean Time

ALIHAL —–At Least I Have A Life

YSK —–You Should Know

YSC —–Your So Cute

IMAHO —–In My Absolutely Honest Opinion

TMT —–Too Much Tuna

KF —–Kinda Funny

BBN —–Be Back Never

USB —–Universal Serial Bus

PPC —–Pay Per Click

TLI —–Too Little Information

TCL —–Tool Command Language

LAK —–Love And Kisses

KIU —–Keep It Up

GNFB —–Good Night Facebook

BIFFL —–Best Internet Friend For Life

AEAP —–As Early As Possible

PIPA —–Protect IP Act

SATS —–Standard Attainment Tests

AOB —–Any Other Business

NT —–No Thanks

OOTB —–Out Of The Box

LFTI —–Looking Forward To It

TBS —–Tablespoon To Be Specified

RYN —–Read Your Note Regarding Your Note

ILYA —–I Love You All

JBU —–Just Between Us

LQTY —–Laughing Quietly To Yourself

ICBI —–I Can’t Believe It

DOC —–Doctor Drug of Choice

NWM —–No Worries Mate

MIA —–Missing In Action

NFSW —–Not For Showing Wife

WYW —–Whatever You Want

YVW —–You’re Very Welcome

TMP —–Tactical Machine Pistol

TGFI —–Thank God For the Internet

MAW —–Might As Well

MW2 —–Modern Warfare 2 (game)

TCFS —–Too Cool For School

INVU —–I Envy You

BO —–Body Odour

WLYB —–Who Loves You Baby

PR —–Public Relations

WSP —–What’s up?

LBM —–Little Big Man

LDS —–Latter Day Saint

TBD —–To Be Decided

BOGO —–Buy One Get One

OOP —–Out Of Place

ROFLOL —–Rolling On Floor, Laughing Out Loud

TNBM —–True Norwegian Black Metal

WDYMBT —–What Do You Mean By That?

IPO —–Initial Public Offering

LWT —–Look Who’s Talking

Short form of words used in chat

IBYP —–I Beg Your Pardon

NSFW —–Not Safe For Work

AIDS —–Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

BGF —–Best Girl/Guy Friend

DST —–Daylight Saving Time

GTBB —–Good To Be Back

WNWY —–What’s New With You?

SRH —–Supporting Radical Habits (Clothing)

IJL —–I Just Laughed

PDP —–Pretty Darn Precious

JWTLYK —–Just Wanted To Let You Know

OTE —–Over The Edge

QOTSA —–Queens Of The Stone Age (Band)

TPAM —–The Person Above Me

GW —–Good Work

NYK —–Not Yet Known Now You Know

NVMS —–No Visible Means of Support

CRBT —–Crying Real Big Tears

KIO —–Knock it off

NFN —–Normal For Norfolk

DLN —–Don’t Look Now

NED —–Non-Educated Delinquent

AFK —–Away From Keyboard

ELOL —–Evil Laugh Out Loud

PATT —–Party All The Time

SMH —–Shaking My Head

DMM —–Don’t Mind Me

WR —–Warm Regards

ISLY —–I Still Love You

TCB —–Taking Care of  Business

MYODB —–Mind Your Own Damn Business

LIH —–Laugh In Head

MMT —–Makes Me Think

OWS —–Occupy Wall Street

IMVU —–Instant Messaging Virtual Universe

OOSOOM —–Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

LAL —–Laughing A Lot/Little

TYSM —–Thank You So Much

NTS —–Nothing To Say Note To Self

JDM —–Japanese Domestic Market

WWA —–Wiggers with attitude

EBM —–Electronic Body Music

ROV —–Remotely Operated Vehicle

NAL —–Need A Life

WTD —–What The Deuce?

PTO —–Paid Time Off

GPOY —–Gratuitous Picture Of Yourself

VGG —–Very Good Game

LBDN —–Look Busy Doing Nothing

GTG —–Got To Go

WTA —–Winner Takes All

GGNORE —–Good Game No Rematch

TCOY —–Take Care Of Yourself

TGP —–Thumbnail Gallery Post

PMFJI —–Pardon Me For Jumping In

BH —–Be Happy Bloody Hell Big Head

TFLMK —–Thanks For Letting Me Know

WAPCE —–Women Are Pure Concentrated Evil

GPA —–Grade-Point Average

QOL —–Quality Of Life

TMR —–Tomorrow

PDEA —–Public Display of Elderly Affection

IKWYL —–I Know Where You Live

ICR —–I Can’t Remember

NOKD —–Not Our Kind, Dear

TGIO —–Thank God It’s Over

IHT —–I Hate This

SSTS —–Snickering Softly To Self

WBT —–Will Be There

RVR —–Realm Versus Realm ( )

MLS —–My Life Sucks

BIAB —–Back In A Bit

IGN —–In Game Name

ILYK —–I’ll Let You Know

YMW —–You’re Most Welcome

AGT —–America’s Got Talent (TV show)

NMJ —–Not My Job

KOTL —–Kiss On The Lips

NTD —–Nothing To Do

WOS —–Waste Of Space Wife Over Shoulder

CYBI —–Can You Believe It?

NICU —–Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

ITYM —–I Think You Mean

TFTA —–Thanks For The Add

MIB —–Men In Black Mint In Box

YDK —–You Don’t Know

TYT —–Take Your Time

MMA —–Meet Me At…

GYO —–Get Your Own

QC —–Quality Control

BFA —–Best Friends Always

RFYL —–Run For Your Life

TDF —–To Die For

HSH —–Home Sweet Home

LHK —–Love, Hugs and Kisses

GOOML —–Get Out Of My Life

YKWIS —–You Know What I’m Saying?

USP —–Unique Selling Point

OHKO —–One Hit Knock Out

IOKIYAR —–It’s Okay If You’re A Republican

PSM —–Personal Short Message

IKWYDLS —–I Know What You Did Last Summer

LTB —–Looking To Buy

IWOOT —–I Want One Of Those

MMV —–Mileage May Vary

NPAA —–No Problem At All

GBA —–God Bless America

GLU —–Guys/Girsl Like Us

TRG —–Tiny Rascal Gang

NTT —–Name That Tune Not Touching That!

OOC —–Out Of Control/Character/Context

HJNTIY —–He’s Just Not That Into You

YRG —–You Are Good!

NFA —–No Further Action

EOC —–End Of Conversion

PTZ —–Pan-Tilt-Zoom

SOS —–Save Our Souls (Help!)

AFAIK —–As Far As I Know

LUI —–Living Under the Infuence

NTK —–Need To Know

LSAT —–Law School Admission Test

IAD —–It All Depends

WYR —–Would You Rather

ILYM —–I Love You More

TNF —–That’s Not Funny

SMN —–Shoot Me Now

IBMTS —–I’ve Been Meaning To Say

IOMW —–I’m On My Way

LPG —–Liquefied Petroleum Gas

GBNF —–Gone But Not Forgotten

OAN —–On Another Note

WNTT —–We Need To Talk

LFMF —–Learn From My Fail

ITA —–I Totally Agree

GFI —–Go For It

RMV —–Results May Vary

MR —–Mentally Retarded

BMX —–Bicycle Motocross

ICAM —–I Couldn’t Agree More

HAND —–Have A Nice Day

IABW —–In A Bad Way

MW3 —–Modern Warfare 3 (game)

HWYD —–How Was Your Day?

OBTW —–Oh, By The Way

LFW —–Looking For Work

MBR —–Master Boot Record

Short form of words for chatting

NMH —–Nodding My Head

WDUD —–What Do You Do?

MAAB —–Male-Assigned At Birth

MTO —–Media Take Out (gossip website)

LIFO —–Last In First Out

KML —–Killing Myself Laughing

TCGB —–Take Care, God Bless

WSIC —–Why Should I Care?

NBSB —–No Boyfriend Since Birth

NTB —–Not That Bothered Not Too Bad

LSHMBH —–Laughing So Hard My Belly Hurts

YANA —–You Are Not Alone

NTMY —–Nice To Meet You

NAK —–Nursing At Keyboard

GUTI —–Get Used To It

IKWYM —–I Know What You Mean

IDHAC —–I Don’t Have A Clue

VIG —–Interest paid on a loan

LOTD —–Link Of The Day

ITSO —–In The Style Of

TCCIC —–Take Care ‘Cause I Care

NC —–No Comment No Choice

OOML —–Out Of My League

ETA —–Estimated Time of Arrival Edited to Add

WDYW —–What Do You Want?

NH —–Nice hand (poker slang)

ACU —–Army Combat Uniform

LMG —–Light Machine Gun

ALOL —–Actually Laughing Out Loud

BICBW —–But I Could Be Wrong

OLED —–Organic Light-Emitting Diode

AOD —–All Of Day

RD —–Real Deal

HEA —–Happily Ever After

EV —–Expected Value

AFAP —–As Far As Possible

BME —–Body Modification Ezine

WWY —–Where Were You?

LILABOC —–Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates

PTW —–Play To Win Professional Time Waster

DOB —–Date Of Birth

OSLT —–Or Something Like That

TYFAYS —–Thank You For All Your Support

ACME —–A Company that Makes Everything

FYP —–Fixed Your Post

BNR —–But Not Really

LNT —–Leave No Trace

OAUS —–On An Unrelated Subject

GK —–Good Kid

GCWOK —–Gay Couple Without Kids

CD-RW —–Compact Disk Rewritable

MGBY —–May God Bless You

TMTC —–Too Many To Count

LTMA —–Less Talk, More Action

VM —–Voice Mail

HIWTH —–Hate It When That Happens

TYL —–Text You Later

OTM —–Of The Moment One Track Mind

HMS —–Her Majesty’s Ship (UK)

IYW —–If You Want/Will

OWNM —–Oh Well, Never Mind

NSAW —–Not Saying A Word

DTYT —–Don’t Take Your Time

BGT —–Britain’s Got Talent (TV show)

KWIS —–Know What I’m Saying?

KHYF —–Know How You Feel

TTYRS —–Talk To You Real Soon

PQ —–Party Quest (game)

SGTM —–Sounds Good To Me

NEI —–Not Enough Information

WDYG —–Where Did You Go?

GIYF —–Google Is Your Friend

RYC —–Regarding Your Comment

TBMS —–To Be More Specific

RN —–Right Now Registered Nurse

FYM —–Free Your Mind

GA —–Go Ahead

TOTB —–Think Outside the Box

YBW —–You’ve Been Warned

WAS —–Wait And See

HU —–Hollywood Undead (Band)

QS —–Quick Scope

FYA —–For Your Amusement

YMMS —–You Make Me Smile

AAP —–Always A Pleasure

MTD —–Month To Date

GLWS —–Good Luck With Sale

NFY —–Not Fixed Yet

HAYD —–How Are You Doing?

TMI —–Too Much Information

RWYS —–Reap What You Sow

MUNG —–Mash Until No Good

DMT —–Di-Methyl Tryptamine (drug)

MAC —–Media Access Control Macintosh

IYD —–In Your Dreams

WTHC —–Who The Hell Cares?

LBD —–Little Black Dress

IM —–Instant Message

WTB —–Want To Buy

GTTS —–Got The T-Shirt

TO —–Time Out

GDP —–Gross Domestic Product

LEC —–Local Exchange Carrier

RME —–Rolling My Eyes

IDEC —–I Don’t Even Care

CME —–Close My Eyes

RL —–Real Life

AAR —–At Any Rate

SCNR —–Sorry, Could Not Resist

WMMOWS —–Wash My Mouth Out With Soap!

GWTP —–Get With The Program

CLWY —–Can’t Live Without You

MWC —–Married With Children

DTC —–Down To Cuddle

WYMM —–Will You Marry Me?

PWT —–Poor White Trash

LALB —–Laughing A Little Bit

OPPS —–Misspelling of ‘oops’

NTWF —–Neopian Times Writers Forum

NAC —–Not A Chance Not A Chain (letter)

YDL —–Yellow Dog Linux

WDYE —–What Did You Expect?

KIT —–Keep In Touch

HTC —–Hit The Cell

WTHRU —–Who The Hell Are You?

ADN —–Any Day Now

BGD —–Black Gangster Disciples

IBTL —–In Before the Lock

MISO —–My Internet Shut Off

MIP —–Minor In Possession

ROAR —–Right Of Admission Reserved

PFA —–Please Find Attached

BDN —–Busy Doing Nothing

LTNT —–Long Time No Talk

OUO —–Official Use Only

Make short form of words

PDT —–Pacific Daylight Time

MIDI —–Musical Instrument Digital Interface

OLTL —–One Life To Live

BMB —–Bebo Me Back

SMS —–Short Message Service

BFAM —–Brother From Another Mother

RWNJ —–Right Wing Nut Job

GOP —–Grand Old Party

NOC —–No One Cares

BFUT —–Best Friends Until Tomorrow

TNOP —–Totally Not Our Problem

SRO —–Standing Room Only

IDJ —–I Don’t Judge

HCDAJFU —–He Could Do A Job For Us

GB —–Great Britain Gigabyte

SSA —–Subject Says All

NIML —–Never In My Life Not In My Lifetime

JG —–Juicy Gossip

CMH —–Cross My Heart

HGV —–Heavy Goods Vehicle

TFM —–Total Frat Move

DTMWTD —–Don’t Tell Me What To Do

JTB —–Just Too Bad

TLDNR —–Too Long; Did Not Read

PV —–Promotional Video

WOM —–Women Over Mates

NBM —–Nil By Mouth Not Before Midnight

OMD —–Oh My Days

HTG —–Hard To Get

LOS —–Line Of Site

TNOT —–Take Note Of That

KPI —–Key Performance Indicator

MC —–Master of Ceremonies

POTUS —–President of the United States

PVM —–Player Versus Monster

IMOO —–In My Own Opinion

VBL —–Visible Bra Line

TBTH —–To Be Totally Honest

AKTF —–Always Keep the Faith

ILML —–I Love My Life

PBB —–Pirate Bulletin Board

HF —–Have Fun

MBN —–Must Be Nice

HNG —–Horny Net Geek

WEP —–Wireless Encryption Protocol

RPC —–Role Playing Chat

DTD —–Drunk Till Dawn Drunk Till Death

OMT —–One More Thing

MDR —–Mort De Rire (  in French)

LMR —–Last Minute Resistance

ILYL —–I Love You Lots

JWU —–Just Woke Up

US —–United States

MLG —–Major League Gaming

TOTGA —–The One That Got Away

HDMI —–High Definition Multimedia Interface

OOA —–Out Of Ammo

GWP —–Gift With Purchase

WTP —–What’s The Point?

WWOTW —–Wicked Witch Of The West

WWYD —–What Would You Do?

TGI —–Thank God It’s …

PFP —–Picture For Proof

RTFM —–Read The Flipping Manual

ROFL —–Rolling On Floor Laughing

WWJD —–What Would Jesus Do?

YTB —–You’re The Best

NOS —–New Old Stock

PK —–Player Kill ( )

USW —–Und So Weiter (German for etc)

NIB —–New In Box

GWTF —–Go With The Flow

WCG —–World Cyber Games

OTA —–Over The Air

WYWTA —–What You Wanna Talk About

TMY —–Tell Me Why

ISBN —–International Standard Book Number

OTK —–Over The Knee

RIYL —–Recommended If You Like

TD —–Touchdown

PNL —–Peace And Love

HIMYM —–How I Met Your Mother (TV show)

YBS —–You’ll Be Sorry

ISTATOY —–I Saw This And Thought Of You

TTYTT —–To Tell You The Truth

UTD —–Up To Date

LAM —–Leave A Message Run

GC —–Good Contition

HGI —–How Goes It?

WTTC —–Welcome To The club

SMOG —–Sweet Mother Of God

OLLG —–One Less Lonely Girl

NEET —–Not in Education, Employment or Training

TVM —–Thanks Very Much

PRC —–People’s Republic of China

UTF —–Unicode Transformation Format

TDG —–Too Damn Good Three Days Grace (band)

LMIRL —–Let’s Meet In Real Life

NBK —–Natural Born Killers Never Been Kissed

EUC —–Excellent Used Condition

AAMOF —–As A Matter Of Fact

HAGS —–Have A Great Summer

KISA —–Knight In Shining Armour

BNWOT —–Brand New Without Tags

JV —–Junior Varsity, amateur

AMW —–America’s Most Wanted (TV show)

IDU —–I Don’t Understand

OPB —–Other People’s Business

CYF —–Cross Your Fingers

OJ —–Only Joking

RPS —–Rock Paper Scissors (game)

NTTU —–Not Talking To You

NPNT —–No Picture, No Talk

IBS —–Irritable Bowel Syndrome

SBD —–Silent But Deadly

LMGTFY —–Let Me Google That For You

IOW —–In Other Words

WOTLK —–Wrath Of The Lich King ( )

ODF —–Own Damn Fault

WYUT —–What You Up To

SOI —–Statement of Intent

OFAY —–Offensive term for a white person

IDNK —–I Do Not Know

HWB —–Hottie With Body

IAB —–I Am Bored

HYU —–Hit You Up

SMDHE —–Some Mothers Do Have Em

OTW —–On The Way

Short form of words used in facebook

RBV —–Red Bull and Vodka

PBP —–Please Be Patient

VHS —–Video Home System

ICCL —–I Couldn’t Care Less

BFFLE —–Best Friends For Like Ever

LMAM —–Leave Me A Message

MA —–Mom alert Master of Arts

RTM —–Read The Manual

WTLW —–Welcome To Last Week

CCG —–Collectible Card Game

MYGGWY —–May Your God Go With You

MBD —–My Bad Dudes

IHY —–I Hate You

LMSO —–Laughing My Socks Off

GMAB —–Give Me A Break

BMFL —–Best Mates For Life

ETC —–Et Cetera (and so on)

LZ —–Landing Zone

MYOB —–Mind Your Own Business

MLB —–Major League Baseball

WJD —–What Jesus Did

LYLT —–Love You Long Time

GMA —–Good Morning, America

MM2 —–Message Mode 2 ( )

SOHF —–Sense Of Humor Failure

OMSJ —–Oh My Sweet Jesus!

NTN —–No Thanks Needed

NALGO —–Not A Lot Going On

TFTL —–Thanks for the Link

IDLI —–I Don’t Like It

IHM —–I Hate Mondays

OCN —–Of Course Not

IJAF —–It’s Just A Fact

SME —–Small/Medium Enterprises

KOTC —–Kiss On The Cheek

CYL —–Catch You Later

DNE —–Do Not Erase Does Not Exist

VR —–Virtual Reality

PKIT —–Please Keep In Touch

DOD —–Day of Defeat

TMZ —–Thirty Mile Zone (celebrity news site)

HOV —–High Occupancy Vehicle

CNY —–Chinese New Year

OOYL —–Out Of Your League

NBB —–Never Been Better

ESL —–English as Second Language

TTTE —–Thomas The Tank Engine

LOVL —–Laughing Out Very Loud

USD —–United States Dollar

WHYB —–Where Have You Been?

IWHI —–I Would Hit It

MDK —–Murder Death Kill

GJWHF —–Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

WWW —–World Wide Web

ILT —–I Like That

TPS —–Totally pointless stuff

GFP —–Good For Pics

NCNR —–Non-Cancelable, Non-Returnable

TYM —–Thank You Much

YOLF —–You Only Live Forever

IMAO —–In My Arrogant Opinion

ROI —–Return on Investment

PUV —–Public Utility Vehicle

DNW —–Do Not Want

ASAIC —–As Soon As I Can

LSH —–Laughing So Hard

TGFL —–Thank God For Life

PHAT —–Pretty Hot And Tempting

NMHJC —–Not Much Happening Just Chilling

TTGG —–Time To Go Girl

PBWY —–Peace Be With You

SFTBC —–Sorry For The Broadcast

BFB —–Better From Behind

SMGDH —–Shaking My God Damn Head

KICKS —–Shoes Thrills

MBO —–Must Be Off Management Buy-Out

RDM —–Random Death Match

YKTR —–You Know the Rest

TBH —–To Be Honest

WAMH —–With All My Heart

UY —–Up Yours

QAP —–Quick As Possible Quickly As Possible

WYDN —–What You Doing Now?

INPO —–In No Particular Order

VLSI —–Very Large-Scale Integration

SOH —–Sense Of Humor

BBO —–Being Bored Online

YHL —–You Have Lost

UT —–Unreal Tournament

GBU —–God Bless You

YKIMS —–You Know It Makes Sense

TTTTY —–Time To Talk To You

NNTO —–No Need To Open

AFAIC —–As Far As I’m Concerned

WMYB —–What Makes You Beautiful

PIU —–Pump It Up

GLWT —–Good Luck With That

NCIS —–Naval Criminal Investigative Service (TV show)

UTH —–Up The Hoods

CRB —–Criminal Records Bureau (UK)

G O A T —–Greatest Of All Time

IMYT —–I Miss You Too

ADTR —–A Day To Remember (band)

QB —–Quarter Back

DNC —–Democratic National Committee

TOL —–Thinking Out Loud Thinking Of Laughing

CDC —–Cult of the Dead Cow Crudely Drawn Cock

OP —–Original Poster

English short form of words

VGC —–Very Good Condition

HBD —–Happy Birthday

NPC —–Non Player Character ( )

ANZAC —–Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

IEP —–Individualized Education Program

YTO —–You’re The One

DLTM —–Don’t Lie To Me

IIWY —–If I Were You

NSW —–New South Wales

KAFM —–Keep Away From Me

UWS —–Upper West Side (of Manhattan)

JRPG —–Japanese Role Playing Game

ICAY —–I Care About You

OWOA —–One Way Or Another

MCM —–Man Crush Monday

GKY —–Go Kill Yourself

ACP —–Automatic Colt Pistol

WYD —–What You Doing?

LD —–Link Dead (Disconnection From Internet)

MIL —–Mother In Law

LTD —–Live/Living The Dream

VDU —–Visual Display Unit

TTY —–Talk To You

TTUS —–Talk To You Soon.

TFTI —–Thanks For The Info

TBFU —–Too Bad For You

WUGOWM —–Will You Go Out With Me?

ATOY —–Always Thinking of you

GLAG —–Giggling Like A Girl

LYLAF —–Love You Like A Friend

BBK —–Boy Better Know

OMGD —–Oh My God Dude

OSFA —–One Size Fits All

OOT —–Out Of Town

GFF —–Grenade Free Foundation

VFM —–Value For Money

OMZ —–Oh My Zeus

RLF —–Real Life Friend

DTA —–Don’t Trust Anyone

RTG —–Ready To Go

NSFL —–Not Safe For Life

ISDK —–I Simply Don’t Know

MOL —–More Or Less

NBD —–No Big Deal

OED —–Oxford English Dictionary

TBBH —–To Be Brutally Honest

IDR —–I Don’t Remember

MMH —–Meet Me Halfway

JD —–Jack Daniel’s

ABH —–Actual Bodily Harm

PLD —–Poor Life Decision

HOAS —–Hold On A Second

CWYL —–Chat With You Later.

WDFD —–Whoop Dee F***ing Doo

WLM —–Windows Live Messenger

LYF —–Love You Forever

YSI —–You Stupid Idiot

POTW —–Patient of the Week (House M.D.)

VIBE —–Atmosphere, ambience

IIFYM —–If It Fits Your Macros

IDK —–I Don’t Know

ATH —–All Time High

PCMR —–PC Master Race

YG —–Young Gangster

WDYS —–What Did You Say?

LEV —–Low Emission Vehicle

TPE —–Total Power Exchange

The short form of words

WYB —–Watch Your Back

APM —–Actions Per Minute

API —–Application Programming Interface

WUF —–Where are you from?

WIWWU —–Wish I Was With You

ESP —–Extra Sensory Perception

LOZ —–Legend of Zelda

TTYL —–Talk To You Later

TOM —–Time Of Month

DSP —–Digital Signal Processing

TTYITM —–Talk To You In The Morning

SUAD —–Shut Up And Drive

TBNT —–Thanks, But No Thanks

NC-17 —–No Children under 17 (movie rating)

MOTKU —–Master Of The Known Universe

GWG —–Girl With Glasses

DMY —–Don’t Mess Yourself

NKOTB —–New Kid On The Block

YDMT —–You Don’t Mean That

IPC —–Ignore Post Count

RDC —–Really Don’t Care

HENRY —–High Earner, Not Rich Yet

RPM —–Revolutions Per Minute

INS —–I’m Not Sure

LWP —–Laughing With Passion

BCG —–Birth Control Glasses

OMW —–On My Way

ADED —–All Day Every Day

IDW —–I Don’t Want

ROY —–Relative of yours?

TMBI —–Tell Me ‘Bout It

JHC —–Jesus H Christ

PNW —–Pacific North West

ION —–In Other News

KD —–Kraft Dinner

NNITO —–Not Necessarily In That Order

ASAIK —–As Soon As I Know

GPRS —–General Packet Radio Services

KOS —–Kill On Sight

PG —–Parental Guidance

HSIK —–How Should I Know?

GLA —–Good Luck All

WAP —–Wireless Access Point

AMAP —–As Much/Many As Possible

OAP —–Old Age Pensioner

QFT —–Quoted For Truth

UTO —–Unable To Obtain

PPPW —–Per Person, Per Week

TLYK —–To Let You Know

NDS —–Nintendo DS

WDE —–Worst Day Ever

RINO —–Republican In Name Only

TTO —–Time To Own

LARP —–Live Action Role Play

GBML —–Good Bye My Love

MTLBWY —–May The Lord Be With You

OMGA —–Oh My Giddy Aunt

AGP —–Accelerated Graphics Port

MIGA —–Make It Go Away

HTH —–Hope That Helps How The Hell

ALU —–Arithmetic Logic Unit

SAP —–Sad And Pathetic Fool

WWTBAM —–Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

GTD —–Getting Things Done

SBT —–Sorry ‘Bout That

GTH —–Go To Hell

IDL —–I Don’t Like …

GTBOSH —–Glad To Be Of Some Help

GBY —–God Bless You

NWLY —–Never Wanna Lose You

RFC —–Request For Comment

HAWT —–Hot Having A Wonderful Time

HST —–High Speed Train

HDD —–Hard Disk Drive

LFP —–Looking For Party (in  )

JIC —–Just In Case

ABU —–Anyone but (Manchester) United

PPD —–Post Potter Depression

NASCAR —–National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

IIWII —–It Is What It Is

QI —–Quite Interesting

TTUT —–Talk To You Tomorrow

ATTT —–Ain’t That The Truth

TOFTT —–Take One For The Team

SSD —–Solid State Drive

WAYLT —–What Are You Listening To?

MOT —–Ministry Of Transport test for car safety

PLC —–Public Limited Company

NHB —–No Holding Back No Holds Barred

LTNC —–Long Time No Chat

HFGL —–Have Fun, Good Luck

MST —–Mystery Science Theater

TBT —–Truth Be Told

NASA —–National Aeronautics and Space Administration

WYCM —–Will You Call Me?

ITILY —–I Think I Love You

KOTH —–King of the Hill (game)

WDUT —–What Do You Think?

TM —–Text Message Text Me Trademark

IHOP —–International House of Pancakes

WDIB —–Why Do I Bother?

IMUSM —–I Miss You So Much

GOAT —–Greatest Of All Time

GWAS —–Game Was A Success

Short form of words

TBYS —–Think Before You Speak

LAMN —–Look At Me Now

WEF —–With Effect From

VCR —–Video Cassette Recorder

FYT —–For Your Time

LF —–Looking For

RTFD —–Read The F***ing Description

VC —–Voice Chat

IYAM —–If You Ask Me

ROR —–Raughing out Roud

USCG —–United States Coast Guard

LIS —–Laughing In Silence

ILI —–I Love It

LQTMS —–Laughing Quietly To Myself

GBH —–Grievous Bodily Harm

TY —–Thank You

ATVB —–All The Very Best

WWWY —–What’s Wrong With You?

NABD —–Not A Big Deal

DMCA —–Digital Millennium Copyright Act

WYLT —–What You Listening To?

IMO —–In My Opinion

GMY —–Good Man Yourself

WSM —–Woman Seeking Man

MOPO —–Master Of the Painfully Obvious

HNR —–Hit ‘N’ Run

AOYP —–Angel on Your Pillow

ESD —–Electro-Static Discharge

LFDY —–Live Fast, Die Young

OMGNA —–Oh My Gosh, Not Again

SML —–Screw My Life Story of My Life

NSA —–No Strings Attached

ILYF —–I’ll Love You Forever

GBTM —–Get Back To Me

PUA —–Pick Up Artist

HR —–Human Resources

IJDK —–I Just Don’t Know

ASAS —–As Soon As Sensible

HMUL —–Hit Me Up Later

MNF —–Monday Night Football

UTR —–Under The Radar

YSMTU —–You So Made That Up

GWS —–Get Well Soon

TOFT —–Take One For the Team

Download PDF

You can DOWNLOAD PDF of short form of words in English texting and chatting.

Word-building
processes involve not only qualitative but also quantitative changes.
Thus, derivation and compounding represent addition, as affixes and
free stems, respectively, are added to the underlying form.
Shortening, on the other hand, may be represented as significant
subtraction, in which part of the original word or word group is
taken away. Moreover, every kind of shortening differs from
derivation, composition and conversion in being not a new arrangement
of existing morphemes, but often a source of new ones.

The
spoken and the written forms of the English language have each their
own patterns of shortening, but as there is a constant exchange
between both spheres, it is sometimes difficult to tell where a given
shortening really originated.

§ 7.1 Shortening of spoken words and its causes

As
a type of word-building shortening of spoken words, also called
clipping or curtailment, is recorded in the English language as far
back as the 15th century.¹
It has grown more and more productive ever since. This growth becomes
especially marked in many European languages in the 20th century, and
it is a matter of common knowledge that this development is
particularly intense in English.

Newly
shortened words appear continuously; this is testified by numerous
neologisms, such as demo
n
from demonstration;
frig or
fridge
n
from refrigerator;
mike n
from microphone;
telly or
TV
n
from television
set; trank n
from tranquillizer;
trannie n
from transistor;
vac n
from vacuum
cleaner, etc.

Many
authors are inclined to overemphasize the role of «the strain of
modern life» as the mainspring of this development. This is,
obviously, only one of the reasons, and the purely linguistic factors
should not be overlooked. Among the major forces are the demands of
rhythm, which are more readily satisfied when the words are
monosyllabic.

When dealing with words of
long duration, one will also note that a high percentage of English
shortenings is involved into the process of

¹
To prove this an example from Shakespeare might be quoted: Would
from a paddock, from a bat, a gib / Such dear concernings hide)
(«Hamlet»,
Act III, Sc. 4.) Gib
(contracted
from Gilbert)
‘a
male cat’. Hamlet uses these derogatory epithets about King
Claudius.

134

loan
word assimilation. Monosyllabism goes farther in English than in any
other European language, and that is why shortened words sound more
like native ones than their long prototypes. Curtailment may
therefore be regarded as caused, partly at least, by analogical
extension, i.e. modification of form on the basis of analogy with
existing and widely used patterns. Thus, the three homonyms resulting
from abbreviation of three different words, van
‘a
large covered vehicle’, ‘a railway carriage’, the short for
caravan;
van ‘the
front of an army’, the short for vanguard
which
in its turn is a clipping of the French word avant-garde;
and
van
— a
lawn tennis term, the short for advantage,
all
sound quite like English words. Cf. ban
n
and v, can,
fan, man, ran (Past
Indefinite Tense of run),
tan and
the obsolete van
‘wing’
— a variant of fan.

Shortening
of spoken words or curtailment consists in the reduction of a word to
one of its parts (whether or not this part has previously been a
morpheme), as a result of which the new form acquires some linguistic
value of its own.

The
part retained does not change phonetically, hence the necessity of
spelling changes in some of the examples above (dub
: : double, mike : : microphone, trank : : tranquillizer, etc.).

The
change is not only quantitative: a curtailed word¹
is not merely a word that has lost its initial, middle or final part.
Nor is it possible to treat shortening as just using a part for the
whole as Ch. Hockett²
suggests, because a shortened word is always in some way different
from its prototype in meaning and usage.

Shortening
may be regarded as a type of root creation because the resulting new
morphemes are capable of being used as free forms and combine with
bound forms. They ran take functional suffixes: «Ref’s
Warning Works Magic» (the
title of a newspaper article about a football match where the referee
called both teams together and lectured them on rough play). Cf.
sing. — bike,
bod,³
pl. — bikes,
bods, Inf.
— to
vac,⁴
Part.
I — vacking,
Past
Indefinite tense and Part. II — vacked.
Most
of these by conversion produce verbs: to
phone, to vac, to vet, etc.,
in which the semantic relationship with the prototype remains quite
clear. They also serve as basis for further word-formation by
derivation or composition: fancy
n
(from fantasy),
fancy v,
fancier
n,
fanciful
a,
fancifully
adv,
fancifulness
n,
fancy-ball
n,
fancy-dress
n,
fancy-work
n,
etc.; or fantasmo
‘supremely
fantastic’ from fantastic+-mo
on
the analogy with supremo
‘a
chief.

It
is interesting in this connection to compare the morphemes tele-in
television
and
telecast.
They
are homonymous but not identical. Tele-
in
television
is
derived from Gr
tele
‘far’,
it is a combining form used to coin many special terms denoting
instruments and processes

¹ O.
Jespersen also suggests the terms stump words, e l l i p t i c a
1
words or curtailments. R. Quirk calls them clippings.

² See:
Hockett
Ch. A
Course in Modern Linguistics. N.Y., 1958. P. 313.

³ Bod
—
probably from body
‘fellow’.

⁴ Conversion
from vac
n
clipped from vacuum
cleaner.

135

which
produce or record results at a distance, such as telecommunication,
telemechanics, telepathy, telephone, telescope and television itself.
Tele-
in
telecast
does
not mean ‘far’, it is a new development — the shortened variant
of television
rendering
a special new concept. This becomes obvious from the following simple
transformations: television
-»
vision
at a distance, tele(broad)cast = a broadcast at a distance,¹
tele(broad)cast
—»
a
television broadcast. In
this new capacity tele-
enters
combinations: telefilm,
telemedicine, teleprompter (an
electronic device that slowly unrolls the speaker’s text, in large
print out of sight of the audience), teletext,
televiewer ‘one
who uses a television set’, Tel-star
(Anglo-American
satellite system used as television relay station). E.g. It
was
broadcast via Telstar. Note
the capital letter and the absence of article. Similarly para-
from
parachute
(Fr
para-
‘
protecting’ + chute
‘a
fall’) gives paraflare,
paradrop, paradropper, paratroops, paratrooper.

The
correlation of a curtailed word with its prototype is of great
interest. Two possible developments should be noted:

1. The
   curtailed form may be regarded as a variant or a synonym differing
   from the full form quantitatively, stylistically and sometimes
   emotionally, the prototype being stylistically and emotionally
   neutral, e.g. doc
   : : doctor, exam : :
   examination.
   Also
   in proper names: Becky
   : : Rebecca, Frisco : : San Francisco, Japs : : the Japanese. The
   missing part cap at all times be supplied by the listener, so that
   the connection between the prototype and the short form is not lost.
   The relationship between the prototype and the curtailment belongs
   in this case to the present-day vocabulary system and forms a
   relevant feature for synchronic analysis. Much yet remains to be
   done in studying the complex relations between the prototype and the
   clipping, as it is not clear when one should consider them two
   separate synonymous words and when they are variants of the same
   word.

2. In
   the opposite extreme case the connection can be established only
   etymologically. The denotative or lexico-grammatical meaning or both
   may have changed so much that the clipping becomes a separate word.
   Consequently a pair of etymological doublets (see p. 259) comes
   into being. Cf. chap
   : : chapman ‘a
   pedlar’; fan
   ‘an
   enthusiastic devotee’ : : fanatic;
   fancy : : fantasy; miss : : mistress. A
   speaker who calls himself a football fan would probably be offended
   at being called a fanatic. A fanatic is understood to have
   unreasonable and exaggerated beliefs and opinions that make him
   socially dangerous, whereas a fan is only a devotee of a specified
   amusement. The relationship between curtailed forms and prototypes
   in this second group is irrelevant to the present-day vocabulary
   system, and is a matter of historic, i.e. diachronic study.

In
both types the clipped forms (doc, exam,
chap, fan, etc.) exist
in the language alongside their respective prototypes. The
difference, how-

¹
Broadcast
and
the elliptical form cast
convey
by themselves the idea of distance.

136

ever, is that whereas words
belonging to the first group can be replaced by their prototypes and
show in this way a certain degree of inter-changeability, the
doublets are never equivalent lexically as there are no contexts
where the prototype can replace the shortened word without a change
of meaning.

The
possibility of substitution in case of variants may be shown by the
following example of a brief newspaper note about the prescription of
eyeglasses for racing horses in Chicago. It runs as follows:
«Racehorses
Are Fitted with Specs». The
substitution of spectacles
for
specs
would
make the headline a little less lively but not unacceptable.

This
substitution, as a rule, can go only one way. It would be, for
instance, impossible to use mag
for
magazine
in
a passage of literary criticism. The specific stylistic character of
the clipped form greatly limits the possibilities of usage.

The
semantic status of the group of variants (or synonyms) and that of
the group of doublets is also different. Curtailed words of the first
group (variants) render one of the possible meanings of the prototype
creating by this very novelty a greater expressiveness, a colloquial
or slangy shade and often emotional colouring as well. The following
extract will illustrate this colouring: «Still,
I suppose you want to find your room. I wonder where they’ve put
you. Half a mo —
I’ll
come down and look on the board. You go and make the coff, Con,»
she called back as she came downstairs, «I
shan’t be a jiff.» Everything with her was an abbreviation.
Striking a match by the notice board, she searched for the number of
my room. «Presuming the Ass Mat’s remembered.» «The
who?» «Assistant Matron, old Fanny Harriman…» (M.
Dickens)

It
is typical of the curtailed words to render only one of the secondary
meanings of a polysemantic word. For instance the verb double
may
mean ‘to multiply by two’, ‘to increase two-fold’, ‘to
amount to twice as much’; when used by musicians it means ‘to add
the same note in a higher or a lower octave’. In a military context
the meaning is ‘to move in double time or run’. As a nautical
term it is synonymous to the expression ‘to get round headland’,
etc. Dub,
on
the contrary, renders only one of the specific meanings — ‘to
make another sound recording in a cinema film in a different
language’.

The
curtailed words belonging to this type are mostly monosemantic as,
for example, lab,
exam, fan. Also
they are often homonymous: compare van
and
vac
as
treated above, also gym
for
gymnastics
and
gym
for
gymnasium,
or
vet
for
veteran
and
veterinary.

Between the two groups of
well-defined extreme cases, namely variants or synonyms and doublets,
there exist numerous intermediate cases, where the classification is
difficult. The appearance of a more complex semantic structure in a
word is a step towards its acquiring greater independence and thus
becoming not a variant but a doublet of the prototype.

The
second extreme group, the etymological doublets, may develop semantic
structures of their own. Very complex semantic cases like fancy
with
its many meanings and high valency are nevertheless rare.

137

It
has been specified in the definition of the process that the clipped
part is not always a complete morpheme, so that the division is only
occasionally correlated with the division into immediate
constituents. For instance, in phone
for
telephone
and
photo
for
photograph
the
remaining parts are complete morphemes occurring in other words. On
the other hand in ec
or
eco
(from
economics)
or
trannie
(transistor) the
morphological structure of the prototype is disregarded. All
linguists agree that most often it is either the first or the
stressed part of the word that remains to represent the whole. An
interesting and convincing explanation for this is offered by M.M.
Segal, who quotes the results of several experimental investigations
dealing with informativeness of parts of words. These experiments
carried out by psychologists have proved very definitely that the
initial components of words are imprinted in the mind and memory more
readily than the final parts. The signalling value of the first
stressed syllable, especially when it is at the same time the root
syllable, is naturally much higher than that of the unstressed final
syllables with their reduced vowel sounds.

As
a rule, but not necessarily, clipping follows the syllabic principle
of word division, e. g. pep
(sl.)
‘vigour’, ‘spirit’ from pepper,
or
plane
from
aeroplane.
In
other instances it may be quite an arbitrary part of the prototype,
e. g. prep
(school
sl.) ‘homework’ from preparation.

Unlike
conversion, shortening produces new words in the same part of speech.
The bulk of curtailed words is constituted by nouns. Verbs are hardly
ever shortened in present-day English. Rev
from
revolve
and
tab
from
tabulate
may
be considered exceptions. Such clipped verbs as do occur are in fact
converted nouns. Consequently the verbs to
perm, to phone, to taxi, to vac, to vet and
many others are not curtailed words diachronically but may be
regarded as such by right of structure, from the synchronic point of
view. As to the verbs to
pend, to mend, to tend and
a few others, they were actually coined as curtailed words but not at
the present stage of language development.

Shortened
adjectives are very few and mostly reveal a combined effect of
shortening and suffixation, e.g. comfy
: : comfortable, dilly : :
delightful,
imposs : : impossible, mizzy :: miserable, which
occur in schoolgirl slang.

As
an example of a shortened interjection Shun!
: : attention, the
word of command may be mentioned.

Various
classifications of shortened words have been or may be offered. The
generally accepted one is that based on the position of the clipped
part. According to whether it is the final, initial or middle part of
the word that is cut off we distinguish: 1) f i n a 1 clipping (or
apocope), from Greek apokoptein
‘cut
off, 2) initial clipping (or a p h e s i s, i.e. a p h e r e s i s),
from Greek aphairesis
‘a
taking away’ and 3) medial clipping (or syncope), from Greek
syncope
‘a
cutting up’.

1.
Final clipping in which the beginning of the prototype is retained is
practically the rule, and forms the bulk of the class, e.g. ad,
advert : : advertisement; coke : : coca-cola; ed ;
: editor;
fab : : fabulous; gym

138

:
: gymnastics
or
gymnasium;
lab : : laboratory; mac : : mackintosh; ref : : referee; vegs : :
veggies or
vegies,
vegetables, and
many others.¹

2. Initial-clipped
words retaining the final part of the prototype are less numerous but
much more firmly established as separate lexical units with a meaning
very different from that of the prototype and stylistically neutral
doublets, e.g. cute
a,
n (Am) : : acute;
fend v
: : defend;
mend v
: : amend;
story n
: : history;
sport n
: : disport;
tend v
: : attend.
Cases
like cello
: :
violoncello
and phone : : telephone where
the curtailed words are stylistic synonyms or even variants of their
respective pro totypes are very rare. Neologisms are few, e.g. chute
: : parachute. It
is in this group that the process of assimilation of loan words is
especially frequent.

Final
and initial clipping may be combined and result in curtailed words
with the middle part of the prototype retained. These are few and
definitely colloquial, e.g. flu
: : influenza; frig or
fridge
:
: refrigerator;
tec : : detective. It
is worthy of note that what is retained is the stressed syllable of
the prototype.

3. Curtailed
words with the middle part of the word left out are equally few. They
may be further subdivided into two groups: (a) words with a
final-clipped stem retaining the functional morpheme: maths
: : mathematics, specs : : spectacles; (b)
contractions due to a gradual process of elision under the influence
of rhythm and context. Thus, fancy
: : fantasy, ma’am
: : madam
may
be regarded as accelerated forms.

It
is also possible to approach shortened words on the basis of the
structure characterizing the prototype. Then the two mutually
exclusive groups are cases correlated with words and those correlated
with phrases. The length of the word giving rise to a shortening
might result from its being a derivative, a compound or a borrowing.
The observation of language material, however, can furnish hardly any
examples of the second type (compounds), all the word prototypes
being derivatives, either native or borrowed, as is shown by all the
examples quoted in the above paragraphs.

The
few exceptions are exemplified by tarmac,
a
technical term for tar-macadam
(a
road surface of crushed stone and tar originally named after the
inventor J.L. McAdam); also cabbie
for
cabman.
But
then -man
in
such cases is most often a semi-affix, not a free form, and, besides,
the process of shortening is here combined with derivation as in
nightie
for
nightdress
or
teeny
for
teenager.

The group we have opposed to
the curtailed forms of words is based on clipped phrases, chiefly set
expressions. These differ considerably from word clippings as they
result from a combined effect of curtailment, ellipsis and
substantivation.

Ellipsis
is defined as the omission of a word or words considered essential
for grammatical completeness but not for the conveyance of the
intended lexical meaning, as in the following example: the

¹
There seem, however, to be different degrees of colloquialism. Flu,
for
instance, would be normal in newspaper and broadcasting, whereas
fridge
would
only occur in familiar colloquial, and tec
would
be substandard.

139

related
two types of blends can be distinguished. One may be termed additive,
the second restrictive. Both involve the sliding together not only of
sound but of meaning as well. Yet the semantic relations which are at
work are different. The first, i.e. additive type, is transformable
into a phrase consisting of the respective complete stems combined by
the conjunction and,
e.g.
smog<smoke
and
fog ‘a mixture of smoke and fog’. The elements may be synonymous,
belong to the same semantic field or at least be members of the same
lexico-grammatical class of words: French+English>Frenglish;
compare
also the coinage smaze
<smoke+haze. The
word Pakistan
was
made up of elements taken from the names of the five western
provinces: the initials of the words Punjab,
Afghania, Kashmir and
Singh,
and
the final part of Baluchistan.
Other
examples are: brunch<breakfast
and
lunch;
transceiver< transmitter and
receiver;
Niffles < Niagara Falls.

The
restrictive type is transformable into an attributive phrase where
the first element serves as modifier of the second: cine(matographic
pano) rama>cinerama. Other
examples are: medicare<medical
care; posi-tron<positive electron; telecast<television
broadcast. An
interesting variation of the same type is presented by cases of
superposition, formed by pairs of words having similar clusters of
sounds which seem to provoke blending, e.g. motel<motorists’
hotel: the
element -ot-
is
present in both parts of the prototype. Further examples are:
shamboo<sham
bamboo (imitation
bamboo); atomaniac<atom
maniac; slanguage<slang +
language;
spam<spiced ham. Blends,
although not very numerous altogether, seem to be on the rise,
especially in terminology and also in trade advertisements.