略す

りゃくす · ryakusu · JLPT N2 · verb-godan

to abbreviate

✂️ 略 = outline or omission: to abbreviate is to trim a word down to its outline

略 means outline or omission, as in 略語 (abbreviation). 略す cuts a long word or name down to its essential parts, like LOL from laughing out loud.

略 — field 田 + each 各 (phonetic)
略 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 田 'field' gives the meaning and 各 supplies the sound. It originally referred to surveying or marking out fields and territory, then extended to 'plan, strategy' and 'seize/conquer.' From there it broadened to the modern senses 'outline, brief, omit, slightly.'

More Japanese words · How Japanese works