Theme: Classification of compounds

Shortening is the formation of a word by cutting off a part of the word without changing their lexico-grammatical meaning. There are three basic types of shortening abbreviation, clipping and blending.
Alphabetical abbreviation (initial abbreviation, initialism)is a shortening which is read as a succession of the alphabetical readings of the constituent letters, e.g. DVD, SMS, BBC, IQ (intelligence quotient), FBI, GPRS (general packet radio service), GPS (global positioning system), ICQ.
Acronymic abbreviationis a shortening which is read as a succession of the sounds denoted by constituent letters, i.e. as if it were an ordinary word, e.g. NATO, UNESCO, VIP, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), UNO, UNICEF, SCUM (self-centered urban male), SINK (Single, Independent, No Kids).
Graphical abbreviations are the result of shortening of words and word-groups only in written speech while orally the corresponding full forms are used. They are used for the economy of space and effort in writing. In graphic abbreviations of Latin origin Latin words are shortened in the spelling, while orally the corresponding English equivalents are pronounced in the full form, e.g. a.m. – in the morning (ante meridiem), No – number (numero), p.a. – a year (per annum), d – penny (dinarius), lb – pound (libra), i.e. – that is (id est), Cº – company, etc. There are also graphical abbreviations of native origin, where in the spelling we have abbreviations of words and word-groups of the corresponding English equivalents in the full form. We have several semantic groups of them:
a) days of the week, e.g. Mon – Monday, Tue – Tuesday;
b) names of months, e.g. Apr – April, Aug – August;
c) names of counties in UK, e.g. Yorks – Yorkshire, Berks –Berkshire;
d) names of states in USA, e.g. Ala – Alabama, Alas – Alaska;
e) names of address, e.g. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr.;
f) military ranks, e.g. capt. – captain, col. – colonel, sgt – sergeant;
g) scientific degrees, e.g. B.A. – Bachelor of Arts, D.M. – Doctor of Medicine;
h) units of time, length, weight, money, e.g. f./ft – foot/feet, sec. – second, in. – inch, mg. – milligram, J – pound sterling;