An abbreviation means short in Latin. It is not a word, it is a shortened version of a phrase or word. Word abbreviation abbreviation is abbr. In strict analysis, abbreviations should not be confused with contractions or acronyms, with which they share some semantic functions, though all three are connoted by the term "abbreviation" in loose parlance. An abbreviation is a shortening by any method; a contraction is a reduction of size by the drawing together of the parts. A contraction of a word is made by omitting certain letters and bringing together the first and last letters or elements; an abbreviation may be made either by omitting certain portions from the interior or by cutting off a part; a contraction is an abbreviation, but an abbreviation itself is not necessarily a contraction.

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