- Students often refer to "calculus" as "cal" because it's shorter and not as taxing on the tongue. It may have started because "calculus" is abbreviated as "CAL" on schedules. "Cal" is best understood as a clipping because "calc" is the accepted abbreviation. The fact that is almost exclusively used to refer to calculus classes and not the general subject of calculus strengthens the possibility that it was derived from the schedules.
cal
clipping; noun
Calculus
Etymology : "Calculus" from Latin "calculus" for "account."
Source : "Cal is my easy class." (Calculus student 11/2/2013)
Last modified: 12 December 2013