1. to shorten a word by dropping one or more sounds or letters from the end
Usage: linguistics; third person singular present tense of apocopate

Examples

• The word 'phone' apocopates 'telephone' by removing the final syllables.
• In casual speech, 'lab' apocopates 'laboratory'.
• Spanish apocopates certain adjectives before masculine nouns.
• The linguist explains how English apocopates longer words in informal contexts.
• When we say 'ad' instead of 'advertisement', we apocopate the original term.