Word Subtraction

Word Subtraction Word Subtraction Word Subtraction By Sharon We all know you can form new words by adding existing words together, such as combining boat and house to make boathouse or houseboat. But did you know that a lot of common words are also formed by subtraction or taking a piece away from a longer word? The linguistic term for this is clipping. It means shortening an existing word to form a new word. The clipped form has the same meaning as the original word and becomes a word in its own right, rather than an abbreviation. This means it can be combined with other words to form compounds Here are some examples of clipped forms biopic biographical picture bra -brassià ¨re burger hamburger bus omnibus cello violoncello exam examination flu influenza fridge refrigerator gas gasoline gym gymnasium lab laboratory math mathematics (clipped to maths in British English) memo memorandum mob mobile vulgus (fickle crowd in Latin) movie moving picture pants pantaloons phone telephone piano pianoforte plane airplane pram perambulator sitcom situation comedy tie necktie typo typographical error There are lots more, of course, but these are clipped forms that have more or less replaced the longer original in everyday speech. Can you think of some others to add to the list? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs EnquireOne Sheep, Two Sheep, One Fish, Two Fish . . .A "Diploma" is not a "Degree"