Intro Is a Clipping, Like Photo and Exam
An intro is an introduction. English shortens long words by clipping, and the short form often outlives the full one in speech.
An intro is an introduction, especially the opening section of a piece of music or writing. It is a *clipping*, one of the main ways English makes new words: cut a long word short and keep the meaning. *Photo*, *exam*, *fridge*, *flu*, *bus* and *pub* are all clippings, and several have so displaced the full form that *omnibus* and *influenza* now sound archaic. Some clippings take the front, some the back, and *fridge* takes the middle.
- An introduction. *A short intro.*
- A musical opening. *An eight-bar intro.*
- Introduce — the verb. *Introduce yourself.*
- Clipping — the shortening process. *A clipping.*
- Outro — the closing section. *The outro.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | intro | A brief intro. |
| Plural | intros | Two intros. |
| Full form | introduction | An introduction. |
| Verb | introduce | Introduce it. |
| Coined form | outro | An outro. |
- Skip the intro.Media.
- The song has a long intro.Music.
- Outro was coined to match it.Word formation.
Clippings that beat the full word
- Bus — from omnibus, now rarely used in full
- Flu — from influenza
- Pub — from public house
- Fridge — from refrigerator, taking the middle and adding a d
- Mob — from Latin *mobile vulgus*, the fickle crowd
A shortening of *introduction*, from Latin *introducere*, to lead in, from *intro*, inward, plus *ducere*, to lead.
What is an outro?
The closing section of a piece of music or a broadcast. The word was coined in the twentieth century as the opposite of intro.
Why is it fridge and not frige?
The d was added to keep the g soft. It is the same reason bridge and ridge are spelled that way.