# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/21 "2009-09-17T16:57:16Z")
“its” :dubious: And how about deluxe new and “improved” words like orientate, that really just means orient? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/22 "2009-09-17T17:08:46Z")
Or preventative, which just means preventive. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/23 "2009-09-17T17:40:13Z")
Such things are discussed regularly at sites like [wordwizard.com](http://wordwizard.com). They would know if the linguists have a technical term for it. ---
**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, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/24 "2009-09-17T17:50:00Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > “its” :dubious: It never fails to amaze me…😛 With 10,000 parts of English grammar to remember, I will always forget one. Be glad I wasn’t working for NASA during the Apollo Missions… “Huston…um…where the toilet paper?” ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/25 "2009-09-17T17:51:16Z")
It puts the lotion in the basket, or it gets the hose again. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/26 "2009-09-17T18:10:18Z")
I’ve been using ‘prolly’ for probably for a while. Esp useful for IMs and texting. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/27 "2009-09-17T18:19:50Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I’ve been using ‘prolly’ for probably for a while. Esp useful for IMs and texting. Gaaaaah!!! I just thought of nuke and nuclear, sorta, or mic and microphone. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/28 "2009-09-17T21:01:23Z")
Prolly and Probly drive me batty. It’s Probably. I can’t really think of any set of REAL words that does this.\* You have the obvious irregardless (fake word) and regardless (real word), though. \*other than the ones already mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/29 "2009-09-17T21:24:53Z")
The way “reierate” is normally used, it is indistinguishable from “iterate”. Same for “reduplicate” and “duplicate”. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/30 "2009-09-17T22:26:33Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I thought pussycat was specifically a female cat, as tomcat is specifically a male cat. No, pussycat is just an endearment for cat, like kittycat. When gurl kittehz must be specified, they’re usually called queens. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/31 "2009-09-17T22:51:06Z")
Words that retain their meaning if you chop off a part? “Circumcision”? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![storyguide3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@storyguide3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyguide3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/32 "2009-09-17T22:59:56Z")
[QUOTE=gigi;11566041And how about deluxe new and “improved” words like orientate, that really just means orient?[/QUOTE] If by “new” you mean from 1848, then yeah. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/33 "2009-09-18T06:08:16Z")
Rhinoceros Hippopotamus Disgruntled ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/34 "2009-09-18T07:27:02Z")
Hmm, I’m not a linguist, but we’re talking about several different phenomena here: A longer word, expression or sentence is shortened over time because people are lazy is called “reduction”: Rhinoceros -\> Rhino, for example. This also occurs when adjective phrases are shortened to adjectives: The wind \*\*is freezing \*\*my bunghole. The wind **that is freezing** my bunghole. The **freezing** wind froze my bunghole. An incorrectly identified prefix is just that: a mistake. Flammable and inflammable is one. Here, the prefix in-, which usually means not, here actually is part of the word “inflame.” “Prefecture” does not mean “the fecture that came before,” “rectory” doesn’t mean “to ctory again.” Two nouns put together is called a “compound noun.” “Pussycat,” “jellyfish,” “firewood,” etc. are examples. That they can be separated and sometimes half of the word would have the same meaning as the whole word may etymologically be either a form of reduction (“pussy” became a word long after “pussycat” was invented,) or just the shortened form became slang which then became accepted in common speech over time to mean the same thing: Brother -\> Bro’ -\> Bu Sister -\> Sistah -\> Sis Mother -\> Mommy -\> Mama -\> Mom -\> Ma ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/35 "2009-09-18T08:49:41Z")
Clipping can be carried to extremes – dictionaries recognize “ **za** ” as a synonym for “pizza,” but your **rents** may still look at you funny if you say it out loud. On the other hand, the device formally known as a **cell** ular tele **phone** is almost never called that in everyday speech, and “omni **bus** ” (vehicle) and “perri **wig** ” have been completely replaced by their clipped forms even in formal writing. ETA: There must be thousands of other examples and it’s probably not very helpful to keep listing them, but as this is a message board \*\*mod \*\*and \*\*admin \*\*are particularly relevant. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/36 "2009-09-20T03:33:04Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I thought pussycat was specifically a female cat, as tomcat is specifically a male cat. But I tought Sylvester was a puddytat.😛 ---
**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 21, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/37 "2009-09-21T07:39:33Z")
Sorry for abandoning the thread, but I’ve been away for a while. Seems that so far, clipping or reduction are the closest matches for what I’m looking for, but I distinctly thought I remembered a specific term that described the words themselves, rather than the process through which they are created – something that is to ‘clipping’ as synonym is to ‘making new words up’. But as I said, I may be misremembering. Anyway, thanks for all the input so far! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/38 "2009-09-21T10:00:45Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Mother -\> Mommy -\> Mama -\> Mom -\> Ma Unless you’re British, Australian, or a New-Zealander, in which case it’s Mother -\> Mummy -\> Mum By the way, which came first, Mummy as an ancient Egyptian wrapped bandages, or the UK shortening of mother? ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429/39 "2009-09-21T14:38:36Z")
Quite a few in urban American slang: disrespect (dis) homeboy (homes, homies) people (peeps) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-retain-their-meaning-if-you-chop-off-a-part/510429.md?page=1)