In
linguistics, a clipped compound is a word produced from a
compound word by reducing its parts while retaining the meaning of the original compound.[1] It is a special case of
word formation called clipping.
Clipped compounds are common in various
slang and
jargon vocabularies.[1]
A clipped compound word is actually a type of
blend word. Like other blends, clipped compounds may be made of two or more components. However, a blend may have a meaning independent of its components' meanings (e.g.,
motel <— motor + hotel), while in a clipped compound the components already serve the function of producing a compound meaning (for instance,
pulmotor <— pulmonary + motor).[1] In addition, a clipped compound may drop one component completely: hard instead of hard labor, or mother for motherfucker (a process called
ellipsis).[1]Laurie Bauer suggests the following distinction: If the word has compound stress, it is a clipped compound; if it has single-word stress, it is a blend.[2]
The meaning of clipped compound may overlap with that of
acronym, especially with compounds made of short components.[citation needed]
In the
Russian language, a clipped compound may acquire one or more extra suffixes that indicate the intended grammatical form of the formed word. In particular, the suffix -k is commonly used, for example, in askorbinka (from askorbinovaya kislota (i.e.,
ascorbic acid)).[3]
In
Japanese, clipped compounds are very commonly used to shorten long, either coined or wholly borrowed, compounds (see also
Japanese phonology and
transcription into Japanese). For instance, a
word processor (ワードプロセッサ wādo purosessa) may be referred to as simply ワープロ wāpuro,
sexual harassment (セクシャルハラスメント sekusharu harasumento) as セクハラ sekuhara, the program
Clip Studio Paint (クリップスタジオペイント Kurippu Sutajio Peinto) as クリスタ Kurisuta, the video game series Monster Hunter (モンスターハンター Monsutā Hantā) as モンハン Monhan, the
United Nations (国際連合 Kokusai Rengō) as 国連 Kokuren, and the
Soviet Union (ソビエト連邦 Sobieto Renpō) as ソ連 Soren.
Clipped compound place names
Clipped compounds are sometimes used in place names.
Chinese: The Chinese city of
Wuhan takes its name from a clipped compound of the "Three Towns of Wuhan":
Wuchang contributes "Wu", whereas
Hankou and
Hanyang both contribute "Han."
Japanese: In Japanese, city names are often combined in a clipped compound with alternative readings of the characters, especially for combined regions or for train lines between cities. Most often the
kan-on readings (most common readings in
kanji compounds) are used for the compounds, while the place names use other readings. For example, the
Kyoto (京都, Kyōto) and
Osaka (大阪, Ōsaka) region is called
Keihan (京阪, Keihan), as is a major train line connecting them (
Keihan Electric Railway), replacing the
go-on reading kyō (京) and
kun'yomisaka (阪) with the kan-on readings kei (京) and han (阪). The larger region, including
Kobe (神戸, Kōbe), is similarly called
Keihanshin (京阪神, Keihanshin), the go-on reading shin (神) replacing the kun'yomi kō (神).
Hebrew: In Hebrew, the word רמזור (traffic light) is made of the two words רמז (hint) and אור (light).