In
linguistics, a
word formation process which consists of removing
syllables from an existing
word to leave a word with the same
function and
form class. Examples:
- "Computer Science" goes to "comp sci"; both are nouns, both signify exactly the same content.
- "taxicabriolet" goes to all three of "taxicab", "taxi", and "cab"; all four are nouns, signifying the exact same object.
- "facsimilie" goes to "fax"; both signify the same process and object.
Note also that clipping often results in a more prevalent form of the word than the original, as in the last two examples.