Definition of Clipping in Linguistics

In morphology, clipping is the process of forming a new word by dropping one or more syllables from a polysyllabic word, such as cellphone  from cellular phone.  In other words, clipping refers to part of a word that serves  for  the whole, such as  ad  and  phone from advertisement and telephone,  respectively.  The term is also known as a  clipped form, clipped word, shortening, and truncation. A clipped form generally has the same denotative meaning as the word it comes from, but its regarded as more colloquial and informal. Clipping also makes it easier to spell and write many words. For example, a clipped form may replace the original word in everyday usage—such as the use of  piano in place of pianoforte. Examples and Observations According to the book, Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, Some of the most common products of clipping are names—Liz, Ron, Rob, and Sue, which are shortened forms of  Elizabeth, Ronald, Robert, and Susan. The authors note that clipping is especially popular in the speech of students, where it has yielded forms like prof for professor, phys-ed for physical education, and  poli-sci for political science. However, many clipped forms have also been accepted in general usage: doc, ad, auto, lab, sub, porn, demo, and condo. The authors add that: A more recent example of this sort that has become part of general English vocabulary is fax, from facsimile (meaning exact copy or reproduction). Other examples of clipped forms in English include biz, caps, celebs, deli, exam, flu, gator, hippo, hood, info, intro, lab, limo, mayo, max, perm, photo, ref, reps, rhino, sax, stats, temp, thru, tux, ump, veep, and vet. Clipping Basics As noted, clipped words form through a social process, such as students preferring to use shortened forms of common terms, as noted in Contemporary Linguistics. The same kind of social forces lead to the creation of clipped words in other English-speaking countries such as Britain, says David Crystal, a leading authority on language. There are also several clippings which retain material from more than one part of the word, such as maths (UK), gents, and specs....Several clipped forms also show adaptation, such as fries (from french fried potatoes), Betty (from Elizabeth), and Bill (from William). Clipped words are not  abbreviations,  contractions, or  diminutives. True, an  abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. But abbreviations often end with a period, such as  Jan.  for  January, and are clearly understood to be stand-ins for the full term.  A contraction is a word or phrase—such as thats, a form of  that has—that has been shortened by dropping one or more letters. In writing, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters.  A  diminutive is a word form or  suffix  that indicates smallness,  such as  doggie  for  dog  and  Tommie  for  Thomas.   Types of Clipping There are several types of clipping, including  final, initial, and complex. Final clipping, also called  apocope, is just what the term implies: clipping or cutting off the last syllable or syllables of a word to form the clipped term, such as  info  for information and gas for gasoline. Initial clipping, also called apheresis, is  the clipping of the initial part of the beginning of the word,  also called  fore-clipping, according to the Journal of English Lexicology.  Examples of fore-clipping include  bot  for  robot  and  chute  for parachute. Complex clipping, as the name implies, is more involved. It is the shortening of a compound word by preserving and combining its initial parts (or first syllables), says  ESL.ph, an online site for learning English as a second language. Examples include: Sci-fi for  science  fictionSitcom for  situation  comedyGrandma for grandmotherPerm for permanent waveShrink for head  shrinker As you see, clipped words are not always respectful terms. Indeed, some great literary figures vigorously opposed them, such as Jonathan Swift, who made his feelings clear in the tellingly named A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue, first published in 1712. He saw clipping as a symptom of barbaric social forces that had to be tamped down: This perpetual Disposition to shorten our Words, by retrenching the Vowels, is nothing else but a tendency to lapse into the Barbarity of those Northern Nations from whom we are descended, and whose Languages labour all under the same Defect. So, the next time you hear or use a clipped word, do so knowing that it is considered acceptable in English, but remember that these shortened terms have a long and somewhat controversial history. Sources OGrady, William, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, et al. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 4th ed, Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. 3rd ed, Cambridge University Press, 2019. Jamet, Denis. A morphophonological approach to clipping in English. Lexis Journal of English Lexicology, HS 1, 2009. Swift, Jonathan. A Proposal for Correcting, Improving, and Ascertaining the English Tongue: In a Letter to the Most Honorable Robert Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain (1712). H. Kessinger Publishing, 2010.