apocope

American  

[uh-pok-uh-pee] / əˈpɒk əˌpi /

noun

1. loss or omission of the last letter, syllable, or part of a word.

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apocope British  

/ əˈpɒkəpɪ /

noun

1. omission of the final sound or sounds of a word

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• apocopic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of apocope

1585–95; < Late Latin < Greek apokopḗ a cutting off, equivalent to apokóp ( tein ) to cut off ( apo- apo- + kóptein to cut) + -ē noun suffix

Explanation

When the final section or syllable of a word is cut off, it's called an apocope. The word "photo" is an apocope of "photograph." While some apocopes appear in speech simply due to the way a person pronounces a word — saying mos instead of most, for example — most of them function more like nicknames for longer words. The now-common word zoo began as an apocope for zoological, and nearly everyone knows what you mean if you say obit instead of obituary. The word is rooted in the Greek apokoptein, "cutting off," from apo-, "away from," and koptein, "to cut."