According to Etymonline, ammo has been used as a shortened form of ammunition since 1917. Why does the shortened version end in o instead of u? The only reason I can think of is that it matches other shortened forms like info and photo, but information and photograph actually have an o in them, so I'm not sure that's it. Does anyone have any insight into this?
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Why is helicopter shortened to "chopper" (or "helo" if you're in the Marines)? There are many examples of nonsensical abbreviations. – Catija Jun 01 '15 at 21:33
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1Maybe because ammo is easier to speak than ammu with /-ju:/. – rogermue Jun 01 '15 at 21:39
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1There's also convo. – Daniel Jun 01 '15 at 22:28
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2Relevant: Why is “distro”, rather than “distri”, short for “distribution” in Linux world? – herisson Jan 12 '16 at 10:41
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1So it would rhyme with "camo". – Hot Licks Jul 07 '16 at 22:16
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I think it's part of a larger pattern in English in which long words truncated at the second syllable often pick up an -o ending instead of retaining the natural vowel sound and spelling that occurs in that second syllable. Here are some examples:
aggro [aggravation/aggression]
ambo [ambidextrous]
ammo [ammunition]
camo [camouflage]
combo [combination]
convo [conversation]
distro [distribution]
invo [invitation]
limo [limousine]
mono [monaural/monophonic]
provo [provisional]
Valpo [Valparaiso University]
When a phenomenon occurs repeatedly, as this one does, it suggests that the tendency to favor -o endings in truncated words over -a, -au, -e, -i, -ou, and -u endings reflects a genuine, though informal preference in the language, at least for the moment. I don't know whether this particular phenomenon has been discussed in a scholarly setting, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it has.
Sven Yargs
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2Excellent, although you might reconsider camouflage. While spelled with an "ou" it is (as far as I know) pronounced just like "camo". This may be a recent development. – WhatRoughBeast Jun 02 '15 at 14:15
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@WhatRoughBeast I've only ever heard camouflage pronounced with a schwa in the second syllable, whereas camo has a ‘long o’. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jul 07 '16 at 19:24
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@JanusBahsJacquet - I think it may be a function of the community. If it is usually referred to as simply "camo" with a long O, on the occasions when the entire word is used the "flage" is tacked on with no change in pronunciation. If the speaker uses the long form commonly, the pronunciation is as you suggest. At least, that's been my experience. – WhatRoughBeast Jul 07 '16 at 20:21