# Words that retain their meaning if you chop off a part **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 17, 2009, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429 "2009-09-17T09:21:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/1 "2009-09-17T09:21:40Z")
What are they called? I’m sure I knew this, but I can’t remember and it’s driving me mad as such inconsequential things sometimes do. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any good English examples – in German both _Dachboden_ and _Boden_ on its own mean the same thing: attic. I would have thought it’s a word ending in -onym, but wikipedia’s [rather extensive list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-onym) does not seem to mention it. I _may_ have just imagined that there is a word for this, however. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/2 "2009-09-17T10:12:39Z")
I’ve no idea what the linguistic term might be, however flammable and inflammable is a good English example. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/3 "2009-09-17T10:13:06Z")
_Boden_ doesn’t normally mean attic, that’s just a shortened form of _Dachboden_. So _Dachboden_ is specifically only attic, while _Boden_ can mean ground, floor, base, bottom, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/4 "2009-09-17T10:58:54Z")
> [@Captain\_Awesome](#): > > I’ve no idea what the linguistic term might be, however flammable and inflammable is a good English example. Yes, that’s precisely what I mean, thanks. > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > _Boden_ doesn’t normally mean attic, that’s just a shortened form of _Dachboden_. So _Dachboden_ is specifically only attic, while _Boden_ can mean ground, floor, base, bottom, etc. Actually, I believe that _Boden_ is the older term, the _Dach-_ (roof-) was later prepended to distinguish it from the ‘floor’ meaning, not that it matters much. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/5 "2009-09-17T11:29:31Z")
Seemingly random aside: HMHW, are you Indian by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/6 "2009-09-17T11:32:05Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Seemingly random aside: HMHW, are you Indian by any chance? No, I’m German, actually. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/7 "2009-09-17T12:10:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Awesome](#): > > I’ve no idea what the linguistic term might be, however flammable and inflammable is a good English example. It was my understanding that _flammable_ is something that burns, while _inflammable_ is something that emits fumes that also will ignite. So paper is flammable, but gasoline is inflammable. Very similar, but discrete difference in meaning. Am I wrong in this? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/8 "2009-09-17T12:12:38Z")
Bathtub, quagmire, taxicab and pussycat can all be broken in two with _either_ half retaining the same meaning as the full word. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/9 "2009-09-17T12:17:30Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > It was my understanding that _flammable_ is something that burns, while _inflammable_ is something that emits fumes that also will ignite. So paper is flammable, but gasoline is inflammable. Very similar, but discrete difference in meaning. Am I wrong in this? > [@](#): > > flamma·ble n. > Usage Note: Historically, flammable and inflammable mean the same thing. However, the presence of the prefix in- has misled many people into assuming that inflammable means “not flammable” or “noncombustible.” The prefix -in in inflammable is not, however, the Latin negative prefix -in, which is related to the English -un and appears in such words as indecent and inglorious. Rather, this -in is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition in. This prefix also appears in the word enflame. But many people are not aware of this derivation, and for clarity’s sake it is advisable to use only flammable to give warnings. [The Free Dictionary](http://www.tfd.com/flammable) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/10 "2009-09-17T12:27:50Z")
If the short version is formed from an earlier long version, the process is called [clipping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_%28morphology%29). I don’t know what you’d call it if the long form is an elaboration of an earlier short form. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/11 "2009-09-17T13:47:10Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > No, I’m German, actually. Why? I work with a bunch of India guys and they tend to use words like “prepended”, “prepone”, etc that make logical sense but aren’t used much (or a part of) American English. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/12 "2009-09-17T13:50:18Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Bathtub, quagmire, taxicab and pussycat can all be broken in two with _either_ half retaining the same meaning as the full word. I’m with you on all of those except “quag.” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/13 "2009-09-17T13:59:37Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m with you on all of those except “quag.” [Quag](http://www.onelook.com/?w=quag&ls=a) Admittedly not used as often as “mire”, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/14 "2009-09-17T14:49:28Z")
**Words that retain their meaning if you chop off a part** If I chopped off a part, I can think of a number of old, emphatic swear words I would yell, that have retained their meaning – and been employed in similar circumstances – for a very long time. 🙂 As a serious answer, how about “proactive” (meaning, “doing something”) and “active” (meaning, “doing something” but the speaker is not as pretentious). ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/15 "2009-09-17T14:58:23Z")
I thought pussycat was specifically a female cat, as tomcat is specifically a male cat. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/16 "2009-09-17T15:24:48Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > \*\*As a serious answer, how about “proactive” (meaning, “doing something”) and “active” (meaning, “doing something” but the speaker is not as pretentious). The normal sense of proactive is that it is something done specifically before the necessity arrives. If you cut carbon emissions you are being proactive about climate change, but building dikes when the water rises is active. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > I thought pussycat was specifically a female cat, as tomcat is specifically a male cat. I don’t know of any dictionary support for this. A pussycat is a generic cat. There are lots of words in English that are shortened from an earlier form, as bus is from omnibus and auto is from automobile but that’s not strictly what the OP asks for. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/17 "2009-09-17T16:07:50Z")
Speaking of swear words, calling someone by either half of MF gets the point across. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/18 "2009-09-17T16:20:05Z")
Would “blossom” and “bloom” be an English example of what you’re talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/19 "2009-09-17T16:36:28Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > It was my understanding that _flammable_ is something that burns, while _inflammable_ is something that emits fumes that also will ignite. So paper is flammable, but gasoline is inflammable. Very similar, but discrete difference in meaning. Am I wrong in this? I suppose it’s possible that some group, somewhere, sometime, decided to use these two words that way, but it’s certainly not common practice and I’ve never even heard of it in any health, safety, or emergency response context. Clearly distinct words such as ‘flammable’, ‘combustible’ and ‘explosive’ are often given particular (differing) technical definitions in emergency response contexts, but not ‘flammable’ vs ‘inflammable’. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/20 "2009-09-17T16:44:33Z")
I think _half_MAN_half_WIT has it’s own qualities…:dubious: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429.md?page=2)