Questions about words formed by the loss or omission of sounds or syllables from a longer word, usually but not always from its end; also known as truncation, shortening, apocope, and apocopation. Examples include: memo from memorandum, ad and advert from advertisement, doc from doctor, fax from facsimile, gator from alligator, coon from raccoon, phone from telephone, flu from influenza, and fancy from fantasy.