略語

りゃくご · ryakugo · JLPT N1 · noun

abbreviation

📚 略 = omit, 語 = word: a word with parts left out, like 'ryaku-go'

略 means 'omit' or 'skip', and 語 means 'word' or 'language'. A 略語 is a word made by trimming or omitting parts of longer words, as in acronyms like NASA. Use the 略 part as the key.

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.'

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