Abbreviations 2

                                                                      Shortenings

Shortenings are abbreviations in which the beginning or end of the word has been dropped. In some cases both the beginning and the end have been omitted.

Examples-

cello
violoncello

flu
influenza

ad
advertisement

blog
weblog

rhino
rhinoceros

telly
television

bike
bicycle

In some cases, the shortening involves a slight spelling change, as with bike and telly. These shortenings are now an accepted part of the language. In fact some of the original, longer forms tend to be used only in formal or technical writing. It would sound rather odd, for example, to describe a person as suffering from influenza unless you were writing in a scientific context. 

You do not need to use an apostrophe in shortenings to show that letters have been omitted.

You should only use a capital letter if the original form also starts with a capital letter, for example:

Med
Mediterranean

Brit
British (person)

Jag
Jaguar

You do not need to use a full stop unless the shortening is one created specifically for use in writing, for example:

Dec.
December

Tue.
Tuesday

etc.
et cetera