Word Clipping:
* Mechanism: A portion of the original word is simply cut off.
* Examples:
* "Prof" from "Professor"
* "Lab" from "Laboratory"
* "Flu" from "Influenza"
* Characteristics:
* Often involves removing the end of the word (e.g., "photo" from "photograph")
* Can happen at the beginning (e.g., "phone" from "telephone") or both (e.g., "bra" from "brassiere")
* Typically creates informal or colloquial words.
Blending:
* Mechanism: Two words are combined, often by taking parts of each word.
* Examples:
* "Smog" from "smoke" and "fog"
* "Motel" from "motor" and "hotel"
* "Brunch" from "breakfast" and "lunch"
* Characteristics:
* Can be formed by combining prefixes, suffixes, or even entire words.
* Often results in words with new meanings.
* Can create both formal and informal words.
Here's a table to summarize the differences:
| Feature | Word Clipping | Blending |
|------------------|---------------|----------|
| Mechanism | Part of word removed | Words combined |
| Resulting Word | Shortened form of original word | New word from combined words |
| Formality | Often informal | Can be both formal and informal |
| Example | "Prof" from "Professor" | "Smog" from "smoke" and "fog" |
In essence, word clipping is like trimming a word down, while blending is like stitching two words together.