abbreviations - Why is "ammunition" shortened to "ammo" and not "ammu"?


According to Etymonline, ammo has been used as a shortened form of ammunition since 1917. Why does the shortened version end in o instead of u? The only reason I can think of is that it matches other shortened forms like info and photo, but information and photograph actually have an o in them, so I'm not sure that's it. Does anyone have any insight into this?



Answer



I think it's part of a larger pattern in English in which long words truncated at the second syllable often pick up an -o ending instead of retaining the natural vowel sound and spelling that occurs in that second syllable. Here are some examples:



aggro [aggravation/aggression]


ambo [ambidextrous]


ammo [ammunition]


camo [camouflage]


combo [combination]


convo [conversation]


distro [distribution]


invo [invitation]


limo [limousine]


mono [monaural/monophonic]


provo [provisional]


Valpo [Valparaiso University]



When a phenomenon occurs repeatedly, as this one does, it suggests that the tendency to favor -o endings in truncated words over -a, -au, -e, -i, -ou, and -u endings reflects a genuine, though informal preference in the language, at least for the moment. I don't know whether this particular phenomenon has been discussed in a scholarly setting, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it has.


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