21 Words You Probably Forgot Are Short For Something

Don't get me wrong — abbreviations are THE BEST, but sometimes they make us forget things that are even more awesome. Like, why would anyone ever want to stop saying "cabriolet"?

1. Taxicab = Taximeter + Cabriolet

upload.wikimedia.org

2. Emoticon = Emotive (emotion) Icon

mashable.com / Via todayifoundout.com

Emoticons can be traced back to 19th century satirists, but the contemporary digital emoticon was credited in 1982 to Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University.

3. Car = Carriage

shutupimtalking.com

4. Smog = Smoke + Fog

cheezburger.com

5. Velcro = The French Words "Velours" (Velvet) + "Crochet" (Hook)

oxforddictionaries.com

This is what Velcro looks like up close, btw.

6. Tanzania = Tanganyika & Zanzibar

psephos.adam-carr.net / Via en.wikipedia.org

In 1964, The United Republic of Tanganyika joined with the islands of Zanzibar to form United Republic of Tanzania.

7. Motel = Motor (Motorists') Hotel

beautifulbuildings.wordpress.com

8. Microsoft = Microcomputer + Software

logotalks.com / Via money.cnn.com

9. Movie = Moving Picture

mutahr.tumblr.com

10. Chortle = Chuckle + Snort

media.beta.photobucket.com[term]=gifs%20tumblr&filters[primary]=images&o=61

11. Taser = Thomas A Swift Electric Rifle

pulse2.com

"Dont Thomas A Swift Electric Rifle me, bro"

12. Pixel = Picture Element

aip.org

13. Vitamin = Vital + Amine

shape.com

Coined in 1912 by the Polish biochemist Kazimierz Funk, the term comes from vital amine, meaning amine of life.

14. Bit = Binary + Digit

imgbase.info

15. New York Knicks = Knickerbockers

nba.com

The term refers to the style of pants worn by Dutch settlers in the 1600s. They were rolled up just below the knee and these came to be known as "knickerbockers" or "knickers."

16. Snark = Snide + Remark

shutterstock.com

17. Fan = Fanatic

ineedthisforreactions.tumblr.com

18. OK = Oll Korrect??

cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com / Via morowhitewolf.deviantart.com

NOBODY KNOWS!! Some theories include that it comes from an abbreviation fad that began in Boston in 1838 when humorists began using exaggerated misspellings. Some have suggested the term goes further back and is of Choctaw Indian and/or West African origin.

19. Cyborg = Cybernetic + Organism

Lester Cohen/WireImage

20. Newt Gingrich = Newton Gingrich

celebritycreatures.tumblr.com

His full name is actually Fig Newton Gingrich.

New York Magazine asks 100 random Americans, "What Is Newt Short For?"

21. And one Tumblr user's brilliant finding:

thatneedstogo.tumblr.com

Accurate.