Page 31 - Learn English
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Completely new words
There are few completely new words in English. They are often based on proper nouns. For example, sandwich, which comes from the 18th century Earl of Sandwich, who devised a convenient way of eating bread and meat. Brand names also form new words such as hoover, to facebook and 1_______________________________________.
Blending
A blend word is formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two or more words, such as Frankenfood (Frankenstein and food), pixel (picture and element), staycation (stay and vacation) and 3______________________________.
Clipping
Clippings are shortened form or words, e.g. zoo (from zoological garden), flu (from influenza) and 2______________________. These words often originate in specific professions or environments, for example, in medicine, education or the armed forces. Over time, they pass into common usage.
Acronyms and abbreviations
There has been an explosion or these short forms due to the influence of chat rooms and forums, instant messaging and e-mail. For instance, informal acronyms such as LOL (laugh out loud), BRB (be right back) and 4_________________________.
