Clipping
Clipping is the word formation process in which a word is reduced or shortened without changing the meaning of the word. Clipping differs from back-formation in that the new word retains the meaning of the original word. For example:
advertisement - ad
alligator - gator
examination - exam
gasoline - gas
gymnasium - gym
influenza - flu
laboratory - lab
mathematics - math
memorandum - memo
photograph - photo
public house - pub
raccoon - coon
reputation - rep
situation comedy - sitcom
telephone - phone
The four types of clipping are back clipping, fore-clipping, middle clipping, and complex clipping. Back clipping is removing the end of a word as in gas from gasoline. Fore-clipping is removing the beginning of a word as in gator from alligator. Middle clipping is retaining only the middle of a word as in flu from influenza. Complex clipping is removing multiple parts from multiple words as in sitcom from situation comedy.
Blending
Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words combine to create a new word whose meaning is often a combination of the original words. For example:
advertisement + entertainment → advertainment
biographical + picture → biopic
breakfast + lunch → brunch
chuckle + snort → chortle
cybernetic + organism → cyborg
guess + estimate → guesstimate
hazardous + material → hazmat
motor + hotel → motel
prim + sissy → prissy
simultaneous + broadcast → simulcast
smoke + fog → smog
Spanish + English → Spanglish
spoon + fork → spork
telephone + marathon → telethon
web + seminar → webinar
Blended words are also referred to as portmant