Here's our list of the 100 most commonly misspelled words in English. Use it to help you end spelling confusion! Asian-American 4. Vice-President 5. Commander-in-chief 6. Editor-in-chief 7. President-elect 8. Mother-in-law 9. Dry-cleaning 10. Student-athlete 11. Shortened forms of words like rhinoceros (rhino), synchronization (sync), and limousine (limo), common in conversation and informal writing, are usually used in their entirety in formal contexts. These shortened words are called clippings. Sometimes a clipping drives out its longer original and becomes a standard word in its own right.
Clipped forms, shortened abbreviations of words, have a checkered history. Some are acceptable in formal writing, and others aren’t. When writing in academic contexts, in business writing, or another formal environment, take note of the status of these common clipped forms:
1. Ad: In formal writing, the full form, advertisement, is usually employed.
2. Bra: This clipped form of brassiere, from the French word for “bodice” (its euphemistic meaning: “arm protector”), has supplanted the longer form in all but the most stiffly formal writing.
3. Burger: If ever a reference to this fast food staple makes its way into formal writing, the short form of hamburger is just as likely to appear as the long form.
4. Bus: Omnibus (Latin for “all”), a word for a horse-drawn public-transportation conveyance, gave the right of way to its short form around the time such vehicles became motorized.
5. Copter: The full form, helicopter, is best for formal writing.
6. Deli: Though this word has been in use for at least a half century, delicatessen, from the German word for “delicacies,” is best for formal usage.
7. Exam: Examination was clipped back in the late 1800s and has long since been used even in formal writing.
8. Flu: The short form of influenza (Italian for “influence,” from the medieval supposition that illness was the result of celestial perturbations) is several hundred years old and has long been acceptable even in formal medical texts.
9. Fridge: This term, unusual not only in that the full form, refrigerator, has been clipped at both ends but also in that the spelling has been altered to reflect the pronunciation, is suitable for informal writing only.
10. Gas: Gasoline is much more likely to appear in formal writing than its clipped form.
11. Gator: This clipped form of alligator, in spite of its nearly 200-year-old tenure in the English language, is considered slang.
12. Gym: Most formal references to a school building for athletic activities will use the full form, gymnasium, which many patrons might be amused to learn stems from the Greek word for “naked,” because athletes in ancient Greece trained and competed nude. Because Greek gymnasiums were centers of intellectual education as well, the full term is often used in Europe to refer to what might in the United States be called a preparatory school (which, by the way, has its own clipped form: “prep school”).
13. Memo: So pervasive is this clipped form of memorandum that many people may not even know its origins. (The full word ultimately derives from the Latin for “memory.”)
14. Movie: Even more taken for granted than memo is this diminutive form of “moving picture,” which, if you step back from it, may appear silly looking and juvenile. Formal writing often refers to the medium as film or cinema, but movie is also acceptable.
15. Phone: The original term, telephone, is still often used in formal writing, but the clipped form is just as likely to be used.
16. Plane: Plane has become as acceptable as airplane in formal writing.
17. Pro: Professional, the full form, is the preferred usage in formal contexts.
18. Quake: This clipped form of earthquake is, despite long usage, still considered informal.
19. Tie: The full form, necktie, is all but obsolete. (Perhaps the clothing accessory will be, too, before long.)
20. Typo: This slang for “typographical error” is over a century old but is still considered substandard usage.
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A word blend is formed by combining two separate words with different meanings to form a new one. These words are often created to describe a new invention or phenomenon that combines the definitions or traits of two existing things.
Word Blends and Their Parts
Word blends are also known as portmanteau(pronunciation port-MAN-toe), a French word meaning 'trunk' or 'suitcase.' Author Lewis Carroll is credited with coining this term in 'Through the Looking-Glass,' published in 1871. In that book, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice about making up new words from parts of existing ones:
'You see it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.'
There are different ways of creating word blends. One way is to combine portions of two other words to make a new one. These word fragments are called morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language. The word 'camcorder,' for example,' combines parts of 'camera' and 'recorder.' Word blends can also be created by joining a full word with a portion of another word (called a splinter). For example, the word 'motorcade' combines 'motor' plus a portion of 'cavalcade.'
Word blends can also be formed by overlapping or combining phonemes, which are parts of two words that sound alike. One example of an overlapping word blend is 'Spanglish,' which is an informal mix of spoken English and Spanish. Blends can also be formed through the omission of phonemes. Geographers sometimes refer to 'Eurasia,' the landmass that combines Europe and Asia. This blend is formed by taking the first syllable of 'Europe' and adding it to the word 'Asia.'
The Blend Trend
Define Clipped
![Clipped words worksheet Clipped words worksheet](/uploads/1/1/9/3/119370597/766215746.jpg)
English is a dynamic language that is constantly evolving. Many of the words in the English language are derived from ancient Latin and Greek or from other European languages such as German or French. But starting in the 20th century, blended words began to emerge to describe new technologies or cultural phenomena. For instance, as dining out became more popular, many restaurants began serving a new weekend meal in the late morning. It was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so someone decided to make a new word that described a meal that was a little bit of both. Thus, 'brunch' was born.
As new inventions changed the way people lived and worked, the practice of combining parts of words to make new ones became popular. In the 1920s, as traveling by car became more common, a new kind of hotel that catered to drivers emerged. These 'motor hotels' quickly proliferated and became known as 'motels.' In 1994, when a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel opened, connecting France and Great Britain, it quickly became known as the 'Chunnel,' a word blend of 'Channel' and 'tunnel.'
100 Examples Of Clipped Words Worksheet
New word blends are being created all the time as cultural and technological trends emerge. In 2018, Merriam-Webster added the word 'mansplaining' to their dictionary. This blended word, which combines 'man' and 'explaining,' was coined to describe the habit that some men have of explaining things in a condescending manner.
Examples
100 Examples Of Clipped Words Worksheets
Here are some examples of word blends and their roots: