End of! (for end of story!), synonymous with full stop! or period!, used to mean that you will not say any more about something, is a curious example of clipping. Example: You won't go to that party, end of! - no irás a esa fiesta, y punto!
Clipping can be defined as a type of word formation, consisting in the shortening of a word to form a new one with the same meaning. The
syllable or syllables removed can be at the end of a word: ad for advertisement,
at the beginning: paper for newspaper, or at both the
beginning and the end: flu for influenza,
etc.
Sometimes slight modifications occur: fridge for refrigerator,
mike for microphone, telly for television, etc.
Clippings
generally have a restricted colloquial use: prof for professor, doc
for doctor, veg for vegetables, etc., but in some cases, the
clipped form has largely displaced the original; thus practically nobody
nowadays uses perambulator, public house or omnibus any more, but
their respective clipped forms: pram, pub and bus.
For other examples of clipping, see my book Short Stories to Help You Increase Your Vocabulary, Verticebooks, pp. 258-259.
Justice and the law (B2 / C1 / C2)
Hace 5 años
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