Question

haplology noun Try to say "pierced-ear earrings" three times fast. That exercise will demonstrate why haplology happens: sometimes it's just easier to drop a syllable and leave yourself with something that's easier to say (such as "pierced earrings"). American philologist Maurice Bloomfield recognized the tendency to drop one of a pair of similar syllables a little over a hundred years ago. He has been credited with joining the combining form hapl- or haplo- (meaning "single") with -logy (meaning "oral or written expression") to create haplology as a name for the phenomenon. Haplology is quite common in English, and often the contracted forms it generates spread into the written language. In fact, haplology played a role in naming the nation that is the cradle of English: England was condensed via haplology from Engla land. : contraction of a word by omission of one or more similar sounds or syllables

Accepted Answer

October 3, 2015 hap-LAH-luh-jee The speech therapist assured the child's parents that "the tendency towards haplology will likely correct itself with age." "Haplology is responsible for a variety of forms found in rapid speech in English: not just probly, but also libry (library), nesry (necessary), interpretive (interpretative), and others." — Gretchen McCulloch, Slate.com, 4 Apr. 2014

Word	haplology
Date	October 3, 2015
Type	noun
Syllables	hap-LAH-luh-jee
Etymology	Try to say "pierced-ear earrings" three times fast. That exercise will demonstrate why haplology happens: sometimes it's just easier to drop a syllable and leave yourself with something that's easier to say (such as "pierced earrings"). American philologist Maurice Bloomfield recognized the tendency to drop one of a pair of similar syllables a little over a hundred years ago. He has been credited with joining the combining form hapl- or haplo- (meaning "single") with -logy (meaning "oral or written expression") to create haplology as a name for the phenomenon. Haplology is quite common in English, and often the contracted forms it generates spread into the written language. In fact, haplology played a role in naming the nation that is the cradle of English: England was condensed via haplology from Engla land.
Examples	The speech therapist assured the child's parents that "the tendency towards haplology will likely correct itself with age." "Haplology is responsible for a variety of forms found in rapid speech in English: not just probly, but also libry (library), nesry (necessary), interpretive (interpretative), and others." — Gretchen McCulloch, Slate.com, 4 Apr. 2014
Definition	: contraction of a word by omission of one or more similar sounds or syllables

Haplology Easier Drop Tendency Similar Syllables Meaning Written