25 Words That Were Given a Nickname and Never Grew Out of It

My husband’s name is Braden. That’s what it says on his birth certificate, but everyone calls him Brady and has done so basically since he was born. One time, he asked his mom why they didn’t just name him Brady if they were going to call him that anyway, and she told him she’d always figured he’d grow out of it and just start calling himself Braden again. He replied that he never knew he was supposed to do that, and he still has some resentment that he has to wrestle with the question of “Braden” or “Brady” on every official form he comes across.

Brady’s not the only one who’s had to deal with this, though! Of course, nicknames are common for people, but they happen to all kinds of words (not just people’s names). It’s a process called “clipping,” and it happens so often that sometimes we forget that words had a longer name once upon a time. For example, does anyone call their pants “pantaloons” anymore?

Clipping: Nicknames for Words

“Clipping” is also called “truncation” or “shortening,” and it’s the grammatical process by which a word is shortened. The clipped form of a word usually starts out as slang used by a specific group of people. Eventually, that shortened version becomes so common that people just adopt it as the new name. “Vet”—short for “veteran”—was initially mainly used by people who had served in the military, but its use became more common and spread to the general population over time.

There are a few different kinds of clipping. The first is “Final,” and it’s when the last part of a word is clipped off, only leaving the beginning part (e.g., “cable” for “cablegram”). “Initial” is the opposite: the beginning part of a word is hacked off, leaving just the last part (e.g., “phone” for “telephone”). “Medial” clipping is less common, where just the middle part of the word is taken out (e.g., “specs” for “spectacles”). Finally, “Complex” clipping is when a compound word is clipped, though sometimes just one of the words in the compound is shortened (e.g., “linocut” for “linoleum cut” or “sci-fi” for “science fiction”).

Let’s check out some clipped words that are so common you might’ve forgotten they’re not the original names!

abs

short for abdominal muscles

ad

short for advertisement

app

short for application

blog

short for web log

bra

short for brassiere

burger

short for hamburger

bus

short for omnibus

bye

short for goodbye

note: “Goodbye” is a clipped word in itself! It’s a shortened version of “God be with ye.”

demo

short for demonstration

exam

short for examination

flu

short for influenza

fridge

short for refrigerator

howdy

short for how do you do

lab

short for laboratory

math

short for mathematics

pants

short for pantaloons

perk

short for perquisite

phone

short for telephone

photo

short for photograph

plane

short for airplane

pram

short for perambulator

pub

short for public house

rifle

short for rifled pistol

sync

short for synchronize

van

short for caravan

Can you think of any other clipped words? Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

• “R/Etymology on Reddit: What Words That We Use Today in English Are Secretly Shortened Forms of the Original Word?” Reddit, 2017. https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/7qmnxw/what_words_that_we_use_today_in_english_are/.
• “Clipping (Morphology).” Wikipedia, November 16, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(morphology).