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href="#Examples"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3 Examples </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Examples-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Historical_and_current_use" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Historical_and_current_use"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4 Historical and current use </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Historical_and_current_use-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Historical and current use subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Historical_and_current_use-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Early_examples_in_English" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_examples_in_English"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.1 Early examples in English </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Early_examples_in_English-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Current_use" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Current_use"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2 Current use </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Current_use-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Expansion_at_first_use" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Expansion_at_first_use"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2.1 Expansion at first use </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Expansion_at_first_use-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Jargon" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Jargon"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2.2 Jargon </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Jargon-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-As_mnemonics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#As_mnemonics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2.3 As mnemonics </div> </a> <ul id="toc-As_mnemonics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Acronyms_as_legendary_etymology" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Acronyms_as_legendary_etymology"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2.4 Acronyms as legendary etymology </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Acronyms_as_legendary_etymology-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Orthographic_styling" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Orthographic_styling"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5 Orthographic styling </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Orthographic_styling-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Orthographic styling subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Orthographic_styling-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Punctuation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Punctuation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1 Punctuation </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Punctuation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Showing_the_ellipsis_of_letters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Showing_the_ellipsis_of_letters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1.1 Showing the ellipsis of letters </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Showing_the_ellipsis_of_letters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Ellipsis-is-understood_style" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-4"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ellipsis-is-understood_style"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1.1.1 Ellipsis-is-understood style </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ellipsis-is-understood_style-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_periods" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-4"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_periods"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1.1.2 Pronunciation-dependent style and periods </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_periods-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_conventions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-4"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_conventions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1.1.3 Other conventions </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_conventions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Representing_plurals_and_possessives" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Representing_plurals_and_possessives"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1.2 Representing plurals and possessives </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Representing_plurals_and_possessives-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2 Case </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-All-caps_style" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#All-caps_style"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2.1 All-caps style </div> </a> <ul id="toc-All-caps_style-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Normal_case_and_anacronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Normal_case_and_anacronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2.2 Normal case and anacronyms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Normal_case_and_anacronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Mixed-case_variant" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mixed-case_variant"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2.3 Mixed-case variant </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mixed-case_variant-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2.4 Pronunciation-dependent style and case </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Numerals_and_constituent_words" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Numerals_and_constituent_words"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.3 Numerals and constituent words </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Numerals_and_constituent_words-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Casing_of_expansions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Casing_of_expansions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.4 Casing of expansions </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Casing_of_expansions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Changes_to_(or_wordplay_on)_the_expanded_meaning" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Changes_to_(or_wordplay_on)_the_expanded_meaning"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6 Changes to (or wordplay on) the expanded meaning </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Changes_to_(or_wordplay_on)_the_expanded_meaning-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Changes to (or wordplay on) the expanded meaning subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Changes_to_(or_wordplay_on)_the_expanded_meaning-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Pseudo-acronyms_and_orphan_initialisms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pseudo-acronyms_and_orphan_initialisms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.1 Pseudo-acronyms and orphan initialisms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Pseudo-acronyms_and_orphan_initialisms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndrome" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndrome"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.2 Redundant acronyms and RAS syndrome </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndrome-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Redefined_acronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Redefined_acronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.3 Redefined acronyms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Redefined_acronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Backronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Backronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.4 Backronyms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Backronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Contrived_acronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Contrived_acronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.5 Contrived acronyms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Contrived_acronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Macronyms/nested_acronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Macronyms/nested_acronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.6 Macronyms/nested acronyms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Macronyms/nested_acronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Recursive_acronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Recursive_acronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.6.1 Recursive acronyms </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Recursive_acronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Non-English_languages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Non-English_languages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7 Non-English languages </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Non-English_languages-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Non-English languages subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Non-English_languages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Specific_languages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Specific_languages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1 Specific languages </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Specific_languages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Chinese" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Chinese"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.1 Chinese </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Chinese-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Korean" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Korean"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.2 Korean </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Korean-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Japanese" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Japanese"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.3 Japanese </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Japanese-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-German" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#German"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.4 German </div> </a> <ul id="toc-German-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Hebrew" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Hebrew"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.5 Hebrew </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Hebrew-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Indonesian" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Indonesian"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.6 Indonesian </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Indonesian-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Malay" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Malay"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.7 Malay </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Malay-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Russian" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Russian"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.8 Russian </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Russian-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Swahili" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Swahili"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.9 Swahili </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Swahili-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Vietnamese" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Vietnamese"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1.10 Vietnamese </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Vietnamese-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-General_grammatical_considerations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#General_grammatical_considerations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.2 General grammatical considerations </div> </a> <ul id="toc-General_grammatical_considerations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Declension" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Declension"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.2.1 Declension </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Declension-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lenition" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lenition"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.2.2 Lenition </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Lenition-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 8 See also </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Explanatory_notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Explanatory_notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 9 Explanatory notes </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Explanatory_notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 10 References </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 11 External links </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" > Toggle the table of contents </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading">Acronym</h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 76 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-76" aria-hidden="true" > 76 languages </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akroniem" title="Akroniem – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Akroniem" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target">Afrikaans</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-als mw-list-item"><a href="https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Alemannic" lang="gsw" hreflang="gsw" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Alemannisch" data-language-local-name="Alemannic" class="interlanguage-link-target">Alemannisch</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B8%D8%A9_%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="لفظة أوائلية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="لفظة أوائلية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target">العربية</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B3nimu" title="Acrónimu – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Acrónimu" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Asturianu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A2u-j%C4%AB-g%C3%AD" title="Thâu-jī-gí – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Thâu-jī-gí" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target">閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%BC" title="Акронім – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Акронім" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Беларуская</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%BC" title="Акронім – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Акронім" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target">Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC" title="Акроним – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Акроним" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Български</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bs mw-list-item"><a href="https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Bosnian" lang="bs" hreflang="bs" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Bosanski" data-language-local-name="Bosnian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Bosanski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwreskanv" title="Gwreskanv – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Gwreskanv" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target">Brezhoneg</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B2nim" title="Acrònim – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Acrònim" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target">Català</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target">Čeština</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llythrenw" title="Llythrenw – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Llythrenw" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target">Cymraeg</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Dansk</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target">Deutsch</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akron%C3%BC%C3%BCm" title="Akronüüm – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Akronüüm" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Eesti</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%CF%81%CE%BA%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%BF" title="Αρκτικόλεξο – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Αρκτικόλεξο" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target">Ελληνικά</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B3nimo" title="Acrónimo – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Acrónimo" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Español</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronimo" title="Akronimo – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Akronimo" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target">Esperanto</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronimo" title="Akronimo – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Akronimo" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target">Euskara</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%98%D9%87" title="سرواژه – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="سرواژه" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target">فارسی</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronymie" title="Acronymie – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Acronymie" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target">Français</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrainm" title="Acrainm – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Acrainm" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Gaeilge</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B3nimo" title="Acrónimo – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Acrónimo" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target">Galego</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%91%90%EB%AC%B8%EC%9E%90%EC%96%B4" title="두문자어 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="두문자어" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target">한국어</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A6" title="परिवर्णी शब्द – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="परिवर्णी शब्द" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target">हिन्दी</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokrata" title="Pokrata – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Pokrata" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Hrvatski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-io mw-list-item"><a href="https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronimo" title="Akronimo – Ido" lang="io" hreflang="io" data-title="Akronimo" data-language-autonym="Ido" data-language-local-name="Ido" class="interlanguage-link-target">Ido</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Bahasa Indonesia</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ia mw-list-item"><a href="https://ia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronymo" title="Acronymo – Interlingua" lang="ia" hreflang="ia" data-title="Acronymo" data-language-autonym="Interlingua" data-language-local-name="Interlingua" class="interlanguage-link-target">Interlingua</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upphafsstafaheiti" title="Upphafsstafaheiti – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Upphafsstafaheiti" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target">Íslenska</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronimo" title="Acronimo – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Acronimo" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Italiano</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%99_%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA" title="ראשי תיבות – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="ראשי תיבות" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target">עברית</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%90%E1%83%99%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9C%E1%83%98%E1%83%9B%E1%83%98" title="აკრონიმი – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="აკრონიმი" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target">ქართული</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D1%82%D1%8B_%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B3%D1%96" title="Шартты белгі – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Шартты белгі" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target">Қазақша</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronimu" title="Akronimu – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Akronimu" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target">Kiswahili</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronymum" title="Acronymum – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Acronymum" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target">Latina</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akron%C4%ABms" title="Akronīms – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Akronīms" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Latviešu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lb mw-list-item"><a href="https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Luxembourgish" lang="lb" hreflang="lb" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Lëtzebuergesch" data-language-local-name="Luxembourgish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Lëtzebuergesch</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronimas" title="Akronimas – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Akronimas" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Lietuvių</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozaiksz%C3%B3" title="Mozaikszó – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Mozaikszó" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Magyar</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC" title="Акроним – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Акроним" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Македонски</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target">Bahasa Melayu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acroniem" title="Acroniem – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Acroniem" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target">Nederlands</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A0%AD%E5%AD%97%E8%AA%9E" title="頭字語 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="頭字語" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target">日本語</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target">Norsk bokmål</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target">Norsk nynorsk</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronim" title="Acronim – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Acronim" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target">Occitan</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pnb mw-list-item"><a href="https://pnb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%AE%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%81" title="ترخیمہ – Western Punjabi" lang="pnb" hreflang="pnb" data-title="ترخیمہ" data-language-autonym="پنجابی" data-language-local-name="Western Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target">پنجابی</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nds mw-list-item"><a href="https://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Low German" lang="nds" hreflang="nds" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Plattdüütsch" data-language-local-name="Low German" class="interlanguage-link-target">Plattdüütsch</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skr%C3%B3towiec" title="Skrótowiec – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Skrótowiec" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Polski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B3nimo" title="Acrónimo – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Acrónimo" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target">Português</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronim" title="Acronim – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Acronim" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Română</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC" title="Акроним – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Акроним" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Русский</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sah mw-list-item"><a href="https://sah.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC" title="Акроним – Yakut" lang="sah" hreflang="sah" data-title="Акроним" data-language-autonym="Саха тыла" data-language-local-name="Yakut" class="interlanguage-link-target">Саха тыла</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sc mw-list-item"><a href="https://sc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B2nimu" title="Acrònimu – Sardinian" lang="sc" hreflang="sc" data-title="Acrònimu" data-language-autonym="Sardu" data-language-local-name="Sardinian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Sardu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sco mw-list-item"><a href="https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym" title="Acronym – Scots" lang="sco" hreflang="sco" data-title="Acronym" data-language-autonym="Scots" data-language-local-name="Scots" class="interlanguage-link-target">Scots</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronimi" title="Akronimi – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Akronimi" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Shqip</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-scn mw-list-item"><a href="https://scn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B2nimu" title="Acrònimu – Sicilian" lang="scn" hreflang="scn" data-title="Acrònimu" data-language-autonym="Sicilianu" data-language-local-name="Sicilian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Sicilianu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym" title="Acronym – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Acronym" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target">Simple English</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target">Slovenčina</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Slovenščina</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Српски / srpski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronyymi_ja_kirjainlyhenne" title="Akronyymi ja kirjainlyhenne – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Akronyymi ja kirjainlyhenne" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Suomi</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronym" title="Akronym – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Akronym" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Svenska</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD" title="อักษรย่อ – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="อักษรย่อ" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target">ไทย</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akronim" title="Akronim – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Akronim" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Türkçe</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%BC" title="Акронім – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Акронім" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Українська</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ur mw-list-item"><a href="https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%AE%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%81" title="ترخیمہ – Urdu" lang="ur" hreflang="ur" data-title="ترخیمہ" data-language-autonym="اردو" data-language-local-name="Urdu" class="interlanguage-link-target">اردو</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vec mw-list-item"><a href="https://vec.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acr%C3%B2nemo" title="Acrònemo – Venetian" lang="vec" hreflang="vec" data-title="Acrònemo" data-language-autonym="Vèneto" data-language-local-name="Venetian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Vèneto</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BB%AB_vi%E1%BA%BFt_t%E1%BA%AFt_t%E1%BB%AB_ch%E1%BB%AF_%C4%91%E1%BA%A7u" title="Từ viết tắt từ chữ đầu – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Từ viết tắt từ chữ đầu" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target">Tiếng Việt</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%96%E5%AD%97%E6%AF%8D%E7%BC%A9%E7%95%A5%E5%AD%97" title="首字母缩略字 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="首字母缩略字" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target">吴语</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-yi mw-list-item"><a href="https://yi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%99_%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA" title="ראשי תיבות – Yiddish" lang="yi" hreflang="yi" data-title="ראשי תיבות" data-language-autonym="ייִדיש" data-language-local-name="Yiddish" class="interlanguage-link-target">ייִדיש</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A0%AD%E5%AD%97%E8%AA%9E" title="頭字語 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="頭字語" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target">粵語</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%96%E5%AD%97%E6%AF%8D%E7%B8%AE%E7%95%A5%E5%AD%97" title="首字母縮略字 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="首字母縮略字" 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i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about linguistic abbreviation. For the HTML element, see <a href="/wiki/ACRONYM_tag" class="mw-redirect" title="ACRONYM tag">ACRONYM tag</a>. For the political advocacy group, see <a href="/wiki/Acronym_(organization)" title="Acronym (organization)">Acronym (organization)</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:NASA_logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/NASA_logo.svg/220px-NASA_logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="184" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/NASA_logo.svg/330px-NASA_logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/NASA_logo.svg/440px-NASA_logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="110" data-file-height="92" /></a><figcaption>The name of <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a> is an acronym that expands to National Aeronautics and Space Administration.</figcaption></figure> An acronym is a type of <a href="/wiki/Abbreviation" title="Abbreviation">abbreviation</a> consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial <a href="/wiki/Letter_(alphabet)" title="Letter (alphabet)">letter</a> of each <a href="/wiki/Word" title="Word">word</a> in <a href="/wiki/All_caps" title="All caps">all caps</a> with no <a href="/wiki/Punctuation" title="Punctuation">punctuation</a>. For some, an initialism<a href="#cite_note-Brinton_Page_110-1">[1]</a> or alphabetism, <a href="/wiki/Connote" class="mw-redirect" title="Connote">connotes</a> this general meaning, and an acronym is a <a href="/wiki/Subset" title="Subset">subset</a> with a narrower definition: an initialism pronounced as a word rather than as a sequence of letters. In this sense, <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a> <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˈnæsə/</a> is an acronym but <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">USA</a> <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/juːɛsˈeɪ/</a> is not.<a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a> The broader sense of acronym, ignoring pronunciation, is its original meaning<a href="#cite_note-OED-4">[4]</a> and in common use.<a href="#cite_note-Merriam-Webster_note-5">[5]</a> Dictionary and style-guide editors dispute whether the term acronym can be legitimately applied to abbreviations which are not pronounced as words, and they do not agree on acronym <a href="/wiki/Space_(punctuation)" title="Space (punctuation)">spacing</a>, <a href="/wiki/Letter_case" title="Letter case">casing</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Punctuation" title="Punctuation">punctuation</a>. The phrase that the acronym stands for is called its expansion. The meaning of an acronym includes both its expansion and the meaning of its expansion. <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Etymology">Etymology</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Etymology">edit</a>]</div> The word acronym is formed from the <a href="/wiki/Greek_root" class="mw-redirect" title="Greek root">Greek roots</a> akro-, meaning 'height, summit, or tip', and -nym, 'name'.<a href="#cite_note-Wiktionary-6">[6]</a>[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Reliable sources">unreliable source</a>] This <a href="/wiki/Neoclassical_compound" title="Neoclassical compound">neoclassical compound</a> appears to have originated in <a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>, with attestations for the German form Akronym appearing as early as 1921.<a href="#cite_note-Brockhaus_Handbuch-7">[7]</a> Citations in English date to a 1940 translation of a novel by the German writer <a href="/wiki/Lion_Feuchtwanger" title="Lion Feuchtwanger">Lion Feuchtwanger</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Paris_Gazette-8">[8]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Pronounceability_controversy">Pronounceability controversy</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Pronounceability controversy">edit</a>]</div> It is an unsettled question in English <a href="/wiki/Lexicography" title="Lexicography">lexicography</a> and <a href="/wiki/Style_guide" title="Style guide">style guides</a> whether it is legitimate to use the word acronym to describe forms that use initials but are not pronounced as a word. While there is plenty of evidence that acronym is used widely in this way, some sources do not acknowledge this usage, reserving the term acronym only for forms pronounced as a word, and using initialism or abbreviation for those that are not. Some sources acknowledge the usage, but vary in whether they criticize or forbid it, allow it without comment, or explicitly advocate it. Some mainstream English dictionaries from across the English-speaking world affirm a <a href="/wiki/Word_sense" title="Word sense">sense</a> of acronym which does not require being pronounced as a word. American English dictionaries such as <a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster" title="Merriam-Webster">Merriam-Webster</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Merriam-Webster-9">[9]</a> Dictionary.com's <a href="/wiki/Random_House_Webster%27s_Unabridged_Dictionary" title="Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary">Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary</a><a href="#cite_note-Dictionary.com-10">[10]</a> and the <a href="/wiki/American_Heritage_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="American Heritage Dictionary">American Heritage Dictionary</a><a href="#cite_note-AHD5-11">[11]</a> as well as the British <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">Oxford English Dictionary</a><a href="#cite_note-OED-4">[4]</a> and the Australian <a href="/wiki/Macquarie_Dictionary" title="Macquarie Dictionary">Macquarie Dictionary</a><a href="#cite_note-Macquarie-12">[12]</a> all include a sense in their entries for acronym equating it with initialism, although The American Heritage Dictionary criticizes it with the label "usage problem".<a href="#cite_note-AHD5-11">[11]</a> However, many English language dictionaries, such as the <a href="/wiki/Collins_COBUILD_Advanced_Dictionary" title="Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary">Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Collins-13">[13]</a> <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_Advanced_Learner%27s_Dictionary" title="Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary">Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Cambridge-14">[14]</a> <a href="/wiki/Macmillan_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Macmillan Dictionary">Macmillan Dictionary</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Macmillan-15">[15]</a> <a href="/wiki/Longman_Dictionary_of_Contemporary_English" title="Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English">Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Longman-16">[16]</a> <a href="/wiki/New_Oxford_American_Dictionary" title="New Oxford American Dictionary">New Oxford American Dictionary</a>,<a href="#cite_note-NOAD-17">[17]</a> <a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_New_World_Dictionary" title="Webster's New World Dictionary">Webster's New World Dictionary</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Websters-New-World-18">[18]</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lexico" title="Lexico">Lexico</a> from Oxford University Press<a href="#cite_note-Lexico-19">[19]</a> do not acknowledge such a sense. Most of the dictionary entries and style guide recommendations regarding the term acronym through the twentieth century did not explicitly acknowledge or support the expansive sense. The <a href="/wiki/Merriam%E2%80%93Webster%27s_Dictionary_of_English_Usage" class="mw-redirect" title="Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage">Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage</a> from 1994 is one of the earliest publications to advocate for the expansive sense,<a href="#cite_note-MWDEU-20">[20]</a> and all the major dictionary editions that include a sense of acronym equating it with initialism were first published in the twenty-first century. The trend among dictionary editors appears to be towards including a sense defining acronym as initialism: the <a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster%27s_Collegiate_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary">Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary</a> added such a sense in its 11th edition in 2003,<a href="#cite_note-MW10-21">[21]</a><a href="#cite_note-MW11-22">[22]</a> and both the <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">Oxford English Dictionary</a><a href="#cite_note-OED1989-23">[23]</a><a href="#cite_note-OED-4">[4]</a> and <a href="/wiki/The_American_Heritage_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="The American Heritage Dictionary">The American Heritage Dictionary</a><a href="#cite_note-AHD4-24">[24]</a><a href="#cite_note-AHD5-11">[11]</a> added such senses in their 2011 editions. The 1989 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary only included the exclusive sense for acronym and its earliest citation was from 1943.<a href="#cite_note-OED1989-23">[23]</a> In early December 2010, <a href="/wiki/Duke_University" title="Duke University">Duke University</a> researcher Stephen Goranson published a citation for acronym to the <a href="/wiki/American_Dialect_Society" title="American Dialect Society">American Dialect Society</a> e-mail discussion list which refers to PGN being pronounced "pee-gee-enn", <a href="/wiki/Antedating_(lexicography)" title="Antedating (lexicography)">antedating</a> English language usage of the word to 1940.<a href="#cite_note-25">[25]</a> Linguist <a href="/wiki/Ben_Zimmer" title="Ben Zimmer">Ben Zimmer</a> then mentioned this citation in his December 16, 2010 "<a href="/wiki/On_Language" title="On Language">On Language</a>" column about acronyms in <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Magazine" title="The New York Times Magazine">The New York Times Magazine</a>.<a href="#cite_note-26">[26]</a> By 2011, the publication of the 3rd edition of the Oxford English Dictionary added the expansive sense to its entry for acronym and included the 1940 citation.<a href="#cite_note-OED-4">[4]</a> As the Oxford English Dictionary structures the senses in order of chronological development,<a href="#cite_note-27">[27]</a> it now gives the "initialism" sense first. English language usage and style guides which have entries for acronym generally criticize the usage that refers to forms that are not pronounceable words. <a href="/wiki/Fowler%27s_Dictionary_of_Modern_English_Usage" class="mw-redirect" title="Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage">Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage</a> says that acronym "denotes abbreviations formed from initial letters of other words and pronounced as a single word, such as NATO (as distinct from B-B-C)" but adds later "In everyday use, acronym is often applied to abbreviations that are technically initialisms, since they are pronounced as separate letters."<a href="#cite_note-Fowler2015-28">[28]</a> <a href="/wiki/The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style" title="The Chicago Manual of Style">The Chicago Manual of Style</a> acknowledges the complexity ("Furthermore, an acronym and initialism are occasionally combined (JPEG), and the line between initialism and acronym is not always clear") but still defines the terms as mutually exclusive.<a href="#cite_note-CMOS16-29">[29]</a> Other guides outright deny any legitimacy to the usage: <a href="/wiki/Bryson%27s_Dictionary_of_Troublesome_Words" title="Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words">Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words</a> says "Abbreviations that are not pronounced as words (IBM, ABC, NFL) are not acronyms; they are just abbreviations."<a href="#cite_note-Bryson2002-30">[30]</a> <a href="/wiki/Garner%27s_Modern_American_Usage" class="mw-redirect" title="Garner's Modern American Usage">Garner's Modern American Usage</a> says "An acronym is made from the first letters or parts of a compound term. It's read or spoken as a single word, not letter by letter."<a href="#cite_note-Garner2009-31">[31]</a> <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Manual_of_Style_and_Usage" title="The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage">The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage</a> says "Unless pronounced as a word, an abbreviation is not an acronym."<a href="#cite_note-SiegalConnolly2015-32">[32]</a> In contrast, some style guides do support it, whether explicitly or implicitly. The 1994 edition of <a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster%27s_Dictionary_of_English_Usage" title="Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage">Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage</a> defends the usage on the basis of a claim that dictionaries do not make a distinction.<a href="#cite_note-MWDEU-20">[20]</a> The <a href="/wiki/BuzzFeed" title="BuzzFeed">BuzzFeed</a> style guide describes CBS and PBS as "acronyms ending in S".<a href="#cite_note-BuzzFeed-33">[33]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Examples">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Lists_of_acronyms" title="Lists of acronyms">Lists of acronyms</a></div> <ul><li>Pronounced as letters <ul><li><a href="/wiki/British_Broadcasting_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="British Broadcasting Corporation">BBC</a>: "British Broadcasting Corporation"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/DVD" title="DVD">DVD</a>: "Digital Video Disc"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/OEM" class="mw-redirect" title="OEM">OEM</a>: "original equipment manufacturer"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">USA</a>: "United States of America"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/VHF" class="mw-redirect" title="VHF">VHF</a>: "very high frequency"</li></ul></li> <li>Pronounced as word; initials only <ul><li><a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a>: "North Atlantic Treaty Organization"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scuba_set" title="Scuba set">Scuba</a>: "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Laser" title="Laser">Laser</a>: "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/GIF" title="GIF">GIF</a>: "graphics interchange format"</li></ul></li> <li>Pronounced as word; initials and non-initials <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Amphetamine" title="Amphetamine">Amphetamine</a>: "alpha-methyl-phenethylamine"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gestapo" title="Gestapo">Gestapo</a>: German Geheime Staatspolizei ('secret state police')</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radar" title="Radar">Radar</a>: "radio detection and ranging"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lidar" title="Lidar">Lidar</a>: "light detection and ranging"</li></ul></li> <li>Pronounced as combination of word and letters <ul><li><a href="/wiki/CD-ROM" title="CD-ROM">CD-ROM</a>: (cee-dee-<a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/rɒm/</a>) "compact disc read-only memory"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/IUPAC" class="mw-redirect" title="IUPAC">IUPAC</a>: (i-u-<a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/pæk/</a> or i-u-pee-a-cee) "International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/JPEG" title="JPEG">JPEG</a>: (jay-<a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/pɛɡ/</a> or jay-pee-e-gee) "Joint Photographic Experts Group"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Museum_of_Modern_Art" title="San Francisco Museum of Modern Art">SFMOMA</a>: (ess-ef-<a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˈmoʊmə/</a> or ess-ef-em-o-em-a) "San Francisco Museum of Modern Art"</li></ul></li> <li>Pronounced as shortcut phrase of letters <ul><li>AAA: <ul><li>(Triple-A) "<a href="/wiki/American_Automobile_Association" title="American Automobile Association">American Automobile Association</a>"; "<a href="/wiki/Abdominal_aortic_aneurysm" title="Abdominal aortic aneurysm">abdominal aortic aneurysm</a>"; "<a href="/wiki/Anti-aircraft_artillery" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-aircraft artillery">anti-aircraft artillery</a>"; "<a href="/wiki/Asistencia,_Asesor%C3%ADa_y_Administraci%C3%B3n" class="mw-redirect" title="Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración">Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración</a>"</li> <li>(Three-As) "<a href="/wiki/Amateur_Athletic_Association" class="mw-redirect" title="Amateur Athletic Association">Amateur Athletic Association</a>"</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineers" title="Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers">IEEE</a>: (I triple-E) "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_People" class="mw-redirect" title="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People">NAACP</a>: (N double-A C P or N A A C P) "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association" title="National Collegiate Athletic Association">NCAA</a>: (N C double-A or N C two-A or N C A A) "National Collegiate Athletic Association"</li></ul></li> <li>Shortcut incorporated into spelling <ul><li><a href="/wiki/3M" title="3M">3M</a>: (three M) originally "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/W3C" class="mw-redirect" title="W3C">W3C</a>: (W-three C) "World Wide Web Consortium"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/A2DP" class="mw-redirect" title="A2DP">A2DP</a>: (A-two D P) "Advanced Audio Distribution Profile"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/I18N" class="mw-redirect" title="I18N">I18N</a>: ("18" stands in for the word's middle eighteen letters, "nternationalizatio") "Internationalization"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/C4ISTAR" class="mw-redirect" title="C4ISTAR">C4ISTAR</a>: (C-four Istar) "Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance"<a href="#cite_note-34">[34]</a></li></ul></li> <li>Mnemonic (memory-aid) <ul><li><a href="/wiki/KISS_principle" title="KISS principle">KISS</a> "Keep it simple, stupid", a design principle preferring simplicity</li> <li><a href="/wiki/SMART_criteria" title="SMART criteria">SMART</a> "Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related", A principle of setting of goals and objectives</li> <li><a href="/wiki/FAST_(stroke)" title="FAST (stroke)">FAST</a> "Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, Time", helps detect and enhance responsiveness to the needs of a person having a <a href="/wiki/Stroke" title="Stroke">stroke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Don%27t_repeat_yourself" title="Don't repeat yourself">DRY</a> "Don't repeat yourself", A principle of software development aimed at reducing repetition of software patterns</li></ul></li> <li>Multi-layered <ul><li><a href="/wiki/AIM_(software)" title="AIM (software)">AIM</a>: "AOL Instant Messenger", in which "<a href="/wiki/AOL" title="AOL">AOL</a>" originally stood for "America Online"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/ASEAN_Free_Trade_Area" title="ASEAN Free Trade Area">AFTA</a>: "ASEAN Free Trade Area", where <a href="/wiki/ASEAN" title="ASEAN">ASEAN</a> stands for "Association of Southeast Asian Nations"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/GIMP" title="GIMP">GIMP</a>: "<a href="/wiki/GNU" title="GNU">GNU</a> image manipulation program"</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Recursive_acronyms" class="mw-redirect" title="Recursive acronyms">Recursive</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/GNU" title="GNU">GNU</a>: "GNU's not Unix!"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wine_(software)" title="Wine (software)">Wine</a>: "Wine is not an emulator" (originally, "Windows emulator")</li> <li><a href="/wiki/GNU_Hurd" title="GNU Hurd">HURD</a>: "HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons", where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of interfaces representing depth"</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gramogram" title="Gramogram">Gramograms</a>, pseudo-acronyms<a href="#cite_note-35">[35]</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/CQ_(call)" title="CQ (call)">CQ</a>: cee-cue for "seek you", a code used by radio operators</li> <li><a href="/wiki/IOU_(debt)" class="mw-redirect" title="IOU (debt)">IOU</a>: i-o-u for "I owe you"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Police_dog" title="Police dog">K9</a>: kay-nine for "canine", used to designate police units using dogs</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/RAS_syndrome" title="RAS syndrome">RAS syndrome</a> phrases <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Automated_teller_machine" class="mw-redirect" title="Automated teller machine">ATM</a> machine: "automated teller machine machine"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_immunodeficiency_virus" class="mw-redirect" title="Human immunodeficiency virus">HIV</a> virus: "human immunodeficiency virus virus"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liquid-crystal_display" title="Liquid-crystal display">LCD</a> display: "liquid-crystal display display"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Personal_identification_number" title="Personal identification number">PIN</a> number: "personal identification number number"</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Historical_and_current_use">Historical and current use</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Historical and current use">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a>. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Acronym" title="Special:EditPage/Acronym">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2015) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> Acronymy, like <a href="/wiki/Retronym" title="Retronym">retronymy</a>, is a linguistic process that has existed throughout history but for which there was little to no <a href="/wiki/Metalanguage" title="Metalanguage">naming</a>, conscious attention, or <a href="/wiki/Linguistics" title="Linguistics">systematic analysis</a> until relatively recent times. Like retronymy, it became much more common in the twentieth century than it had formerly been. Ancient examples of acronymy (before the term "acronym" was invented) include the following: <ul><li>Acronyms were used in Rome before the Christian era. For example, the official name for the Roman Empire, and the Republic before it, was abbreviated as <a href="/wiki/SPQR" title="SPQR">SPQR</a> (Senatus Populusque Romanus). Inscriptions dating from antiquity, both on stone and on coins, use many abbreviations and acronyms to save space and work. For example, <a href="/wiki/Praenomen" title="Praenomen">Roman first names</a>, of which there was only a small set, were almost always abbreviated. Common terms were abbreviated too, such as writing just "F" for filius, meaning "son", a very common part of memorial inscriptions mentioning people. Grammatical markers were abbreviated or left out entirely if they could be inferred from the rest of the text.</li> <li>So-called <a href="/wiki/Nomina_sacra" title="Nomina sacra">nomina sacra</a> ('sacred names') were used in many Greek biblical manuscripts. The common words God (Θεός), Jesus (Ιησούς), Christ (Χριστός), and some others, would be abbreviated by their first and last letters, marked with an overline. This was just one of many kinds of conventional scribal abbreviation, used to reduce the time-consuming workload of the scribe and save on valuable writing materials. The same convention is still commonly used in the inscriptions on religious <a href="/wiki/Icon" title="Icon">icons</a> and the stamps used to mark the eucharistic bread in <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Christianity" title="Eastern Christianity">Eastern Churches</a>.</li> <li>The early Christians in Rome, most of whom were Greek rather than Latin speakers, used the image of a fish as a symbol for <a href="/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus">Jesus</a> in part because of an acronym (or <a href="/wiki/Backronym" title="Backronym">backronym</a>): 'fish' in Greek is <a href="/wiki/Ichthys" title="Ichthys">ichthys</a> (ΙΧΘΥΣ), which was construed to stand for Ἰησοῦς Χριστός Θεοῦ Υἱός Σωτήρ (Iesous Christos Theou huios Soter: 'Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior'). This interpretation dates from the second and third centuries and is preserved in the <a href="/wiki/Catacombs" title="Catacombs">catacombs</a> of Rome. Another ancient acronym for Jesus is the inscription <a href="/wiki/INRI" class="mw-redirect" title="INRI">INRI</a> over the crucifix, for the Latin Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum ('Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews').</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hebrew_language" title="Hebrew language">Hebrew</a> has a millennia-long history of acronyms pronounced as words. Along with theophoric parallels to the Greek described above, <a href="/wiki/Talmud" title="Talmud">Talmudic</a> sages as early as <a href="/wiki/Rabbi_Yehuda" class="mw-redirect" title="Rabbi Yehuda">Rabbi Yehuda</a> shorten the <a href="/wiki/Ten_plagues" class="mw-redirect" title="Ten plagues">ten plagues</a> to דצ"ך עד"ש באח"ב, the order of blessings to יקנה"ז, etc., for the sake of <a href="/wiki/Mnemonic" title="Mnemonic">mnemonic</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Rishonim" title="Rishonim">rishonic</a> period saw Hebrew acronymy expand to a lexicon of many hundreds, including every type of word and extending to proper nouns: almost all Medieval rabbis are known by acronyms like <a href="/wiki/Rashi" title="Rashi">Rashi</a> and <a href="/wiki/Maimonides" title="Maimonides">Rambam</a>.</li></ul> During the mid- to late nineteenth century, acronyms became a trend among American and European businessmen: abbreviating <a href="/wiki/Corporation" title="Corporation">corporation</a> names, such as on the sides of <a href="/wiki/Railroad_car" title="Railroad car">railroad cars</a> (e.g., "Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad" → "RF&P"); on the sides of barrels and crates; and on <a href="/wiki/Ticker_tape" title="Ticker tape">ticker tape</a> and newspaper stock listings (e.g. American Telephone and Telegraph Company → AT&T). Some well-known commercial examples dating from the 1890s through 1920s include "<a href="/wiki/Nabisco" title="Nabisco">Nabisco</a>" ("National Biscuit Company"),<a href="#cite_note-Davenport-36">[36]</a> "<a href="/wiki/Esso" title="Esso">Esso</a>" (from "S.O.", from "<a href="/wiki/Standard_Oil" title="Standard Oil">Standard Oil</a>"), and "<a href="/wiki/Sunoco" title="Sunoco">Sunoco</a>" ("Sun Oil Company"). Another field for the adoption of acronyms was modern warfare, with its many highly technical terms. While there is no recorded use of military acronyms dating from the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> (acronyms such as "ANV" for "<a href="/wiki/Army_of_Northern_Virginia" title="Army of Northern Virginia">Army of Northern Virginia</a>" post-date the war itself), they became somewhat common in <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>, and by <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> they were widespread even in the slang of soldiers,<a href="#cite_note-37">[37]</a> who referred to themselves as <a href="/wiki/G.I._(military)" class="mw-redirect" title="G.I. (military)">G.I.s</a>. The widespread, frequent use of acronyms across the whole range of linguistic <a href="/wiki/Register_(sociolinguistics)" title="Register (sociolinguistics)">registers</a> is relatively new in most languages, becoming increasingly evident since the mid-twentieth century. As literacy spread and technology produced a constant stream of new and complex terms, abbreviations became increasingly convenient. The <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">Oxford English Dictionary</a> (OED) records the first printed use of the word initialism as occurring in 1899, but it did not come into general use until 1965, well after acronym had become common. In English, acronyms pronounced as words may be a twentieth-century phenomenon. Linguist David Wilton in Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends claims that "forming words from acronyms is a distinctly twentieth- (and now twenty-first-) century phenomenon. There is only one known pre-twentieth-century [English] word with an acronymic origin and it was in vogue for only a short time in 1886. The word is colinderies or colinda, an acronym for the <a href="/wiki/Colonial_and_Indian_Exposition" class="mw-redirect" title="Colonial and Indian Exposition">Colonial and Indian Exposition</a> held in London in that year."<a href="#cite_note-Wilton-38">[38]</a><a href="#cite_note-39">[39]</a> However, although acronymic words seem not to have been employed in general vocabulary before the twentieth century (as Wilton points out), the concept of their formation is treated as effortlessly understood (and evidently not novel) in an <a href="/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe" title="Edgar Allan Poe">Edgar Allan Poe</a> story of the 1830s, "<a href="/wiki/How_to_Write_a_Blackwood_Article" class="mw-redirect" title="How to Write a Blackwood Article">How to Write a Blackwood Article</a>", which includes the contrived acronym "P.R.E.T.T.Y.B.L.U.E.B.A.T.C.H." <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_examples_in_English">Early examples in English</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Early examples in English">edit</a>]</div> The use of Latin and Neo-Latin terms in <a href="/wiki/Vernacular" title="Vernacular">vernaculars</a> has been pan-European and pre-dates modern English. Some examples of acronyms in this class are: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/12-hour_clock" title="12-hour clock">A.M.</a> (from Latin ante meridiem, 'before noon') and <a href="/wiki/12-hour_clock" title="12-hour clock">P.M.</a> (from Latin post meridiem, 'after noon')</li> <li>A.D. (from Latin <a href="/wiki/Anno_Domini" title="Anno Domini">Anno Domini</a>, 'in the year of our Lord'), whose complement in English, B.C. (<a href="/wiki/Before_Christ" class="mw-redirect" title="Before Christ">Before Christ</a>), is English-sourced</li></ul> The earliest example of a word derived from an acronym listed by the <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">OED</a> is "abjud" (now "<a href="/wiki/Abjad" title="Abjad">abjad</a>"), formed from the original first four letters of the <a href="/wiki/Arabic_alphabet" title="Arabic alphabet">Arabic alphabet</a> in the late eighteenth century.<a href="#cite_note-40">[40]</a> Some <a href="/wiki/Acrostics" class="mw-redirect" title="Acrostics">acrostics</a> pre-date this, however, such as the <a href="/wiki/English_Restoration" class="mw-redirect" title="English Restoration">Restoration</a> witticism arranging the names of some members of <a href="/wiki/Charles_II_of_England" title="Charles II of England">Charles II</a>'s Committee for Foreign Affairs to produce the <a href="/wiki/Cabal_ministry" title="Cabal ministry">"CABAL" ministry</a>.<a href="#cite_note-41">[41]</a> <a href="/wiki/Okay" class="mw-redirect" title="Okay">OK</a>, a term of disputed origin, dates back at least to the early nineteenth century and is now used around the world. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Current_use">Current use</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Current use">edit</a>]</div> Acronyms are used most often to abbreviate names of organizations and long or frequently referenced terms. The <a href="/wiki/Military" title="Military">armed forces</a> and government agencies frequently employ acronyms; some well-known examples from the United States are among the "<a href="/wiki/Alphabet_agencies" title="Alphabet agencies">alphabet agencies</a>" (jokingly referred to as "<a href="/wiki/Alphabet_soup_(linguistics)" title="Alphabet soup (linguistics)">alphabet soup</a>") created under the <a href="/wiki/New_Deal" title="New Deal">New Deal</a> by <a href="/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a> (himself known as "FDR"). Business and industry also coin acronyms prolifically. The rapid advance of science and technology also drives the usage, as new inventions and concepts with multiword names create a demand for shorter, more pronounceable names.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] One representative example, from the U.S. Navy, is "COMCRUDESPAC", which stands for "commander, cruisers destroyers Pacific"; it is also seen as "ComCruDesPac". Inventors are encouraged to anticipate the formation of acronyms by making new terms "YABA-compatible" ("yet another bloody acronym"), meaning the term's acronym can be pronounced and is not an offensive word: "When choosing a new name, be sure it is 'YABA-compatible'."<a href="#cite_note-42">[42]</a> Acronym use has been further popularized by text messaging on mobile phones with <a href="/wiki/Short_message_service" class="mw-redirect" title="Short message service">short message service</a> (SMS), and <a href="/wiki/Instant_messenger" class="mw-redirect" title="Instant messenger">instant messenger</a> (IM). To fit messages into the 160-character SMS limit, and to save time, acronyms such as "GF" ("girlfriend"), "LOL" ("laughing out loud"), and "DL" ("download" or "down low") have become popular.<a href="#cite_note-43">[43]</a> Some <a href="/wiki/Linguistic_prescription" title="Linguistic prescription">prescriptivists</a> disdain texting acronyms and abbreviations as decreasing clarity, or as failure to use "pure" or "proper" English. Others point out that languages have always <a href="/wiki/Language_change" title="Language change">continually changed</a>, and argue that acronyms should be embraced as inevitable, or as innovation that adapts the language to changing circumstances. In this view, the modern practice is just the "proper" English of the current generation of speakers, much like the earlier abbreviation of corporation names on ticker tape or newspapers. Exact pronunciation of "word acronyms" (those pronounced as words rather than sounded out as individual letters) often vary by speaker population. These may be regional, occupational, or generational differences, or simply personal preference. For instance, there have been decades of online debate about how to pronounce <a href="/wiki/GIF" title="GIF">GIF</a> (<a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ɡɪf/</a> or <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/dʒɪf/</a>) and <a href="/wiki/BIOS" title="BIOS">BIOS</a> (<a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˈbaɪoʊs/</a>, <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˈbaɪoʊz/</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˈbaɪɒs/</a>). Similarly, some letter-by-letter initialisms may become word acronyms over time, especially in combining forms: IP for <a href="/wiki/Internet_Protocol" title="Internet Protocol">Internet Protocol</a> is generally said as two letters, but <a href="/wiki/IPsec" title="IPsec">IPsec</a> for Internet Protocol Security is usually pronounced as <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˌaɪˈpiːsɛk/</a> or <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/ˈɪpsɛk/</a>, along with variant capitalization like "IPSEC" and "Ipsec". Pronunciation may even vary within a single speaker's vocabulary, depending on narrow contexts. As an example, the database programming language <a href="/wiki/SQL" title="SQL">SQL</a> is usually said as three letters, but in reference to <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_SQL_Server" title="Microsoft SQL Server">Microsoft's implementation</a> is traditionally pronounced like the word <a href="/wiki/Sequel" title="Sequel">sequel</a>. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Expansion_at_first_use">Expansion at first use</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Expansion at first use">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a>. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Acronym" title="Special:EditPage/Acronym">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2015) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> In writing for a broad audience, the words of an acronym are typically written out in full at its first occurrence within a given text. Expansion At First Use (EAFU) benefits readers unfamiliar with the acronym.<a href="#cite_note-44">[44]</a> Another text aid is an abbreviation key which lists and expands all acronyms used, a reference for readers who skipped past the first use. (This is especially important for paper media, where no search utility is available to find the first use.) It also gives students a convenient review list to memorize the important acronyms introduced in a textbook chapter. Expansion at first use and abbreviation keys originated in the print era, but they are equally useful for <a href="/wiki/E-text" title="E-text">electronic text</a>. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Jargon">Jargon</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Jargon">edit</a>]</div> While acronyms provide convenience and succinctness for specialists, they often degenerate into confusing <a href="/wiki/Jargon" title="Jargon">jargon</a>. This may be intentional, to exclude readers without domain-specific knowledge. New acronyms may also confuse when they coincide with an already existing acronym having a different meaning. Medical literature has been struggling to control the proliferation of acronyms, including efforts by the American Academy of Dermatology.<a href="#cite_note-PMID19150279-45">[45]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="As_mnemonics">As mnemonics</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: As mnemonics">edit</a>]</div> Acronyms are often taught as <a href="/wiki/Mnemonic" title="Mnemonic">mnemonic</a> devices: for example the colors of the rainbow are <a href="/wiki/ROY_G._BIV" class="mw-redirect" title="ROY G. BIV">ROY G. BIV</a> (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). They are also used as mental checklists: in aviation <a href="/wiki/GUMPS" title="GUMPS">GUMPS</a> stands for gas-undercarriage-mixture-propeller-seat belts. Other mnemonic acronyms include <a href="/wiki/CAN_SLIM" title="CAN SLIM">CAN SLIM</a> in finance, PAVPANIC in English grammar, and <a href="/wiki/PEMDAS" class="mw-redirect" title="PEMDAS">PEMDAS</a> in mathematics. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Acronyms_as_legendary_etymology">Acronyms as legendary etymology</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Acronyms as legendary etymology">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Backronym" title="Backronym">Backronym</a></div> It is not uncommon for acronyms to be cited in a kind of <a href="/wiki/False_etymology" title="False etymology">false etymology</a>, called a <a href="/wiki/Folk_etymology" title="Folk etymology">folk etymology</a>, for a word. Such etymologies persist in popular culture but have no factual basis in <a href="/wiki/Historical_linguistics" title="Historical linguistics">historical linguistics</a>, and are examples of language-related <a href="/wiki/Urban_legend" title="Urban legend">urban legends</a>. For example, "<a href="/wiki/Police_officer" title="Police officer">cop</a>" is commonly cited as being derived, it is presumed, from "constable on patrol",<a href="#cite_note-46">[46]</a> and "<a href="/wiki/Posh_(nautical_term)" class="mw-redirect" title="Posh (nautical term)">posh</a>" from "<a href="/wiki/Port_outward,_starboard_home" class="mw-redirect" title="Port outward, starboard home">port outward, starboard home</a>".<a href="#cite_note-posh-47">[47]</a> With some of these specious expansions, the "belief" that the etymology is acronymic has clearly been <a href="/wiki/Tongue-in-cheek" title="Tongue-in-cheek">tongue-in-cheek</a> among many citers, as with "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden" for "<a href="/wiki/Golf" title="Golf">golf</a>", although many other (more <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/credulous" class="extiw" title="wikt:credulous">credulous</a>) people have uncritically taken it for fact.<a href="#cite_note-posh-47">[47]</a><a href="#cite_note-48">[48]</a> <a href="/wiki/Taboo_word" class="mw-redirect" title="Taboo word">Taboo words</a> in particular commonly have such false etymologies: "<a href="/wiki/Shit" title="Shit">shit</a>" from "ship/store high in transit"<a href="#cite_note-Wilton-38">[38]</a><a href="#cite_note-etymonline.com2-49">[49]</a> or "special high-intensity training" and "<a href="/wiki/Fuck" title="Fuck">fuck</a>" from "for unlawful carnal knowledge", or "fornication under consent/command of the king".<a href="#cite_note-etymonline.com2-49">[49]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Orthographic_styling">Orthographic styling</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Orthographic styling">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Punctuation">Punctuation</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Punctuation">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Showing_the_ellipsis_of_letters">Showing the ellipsis of letters</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Showing the ellipsis of letters">edit</a>]</div> In English, abbreviations have previously been marked by a wide variety of <a href="/wiki/English_punctuation" title="English punctuation">punctuation</a>. Obsolete forms include using an <a href="/wiki/Overbar" class="mw-redirect" title="Overbar">overbar</a> or <a href="/wiki/Colon_(punctuation)" title="Colon (punctuation)">colon</a> to show the <a href="/wiki/Ellipsis" title="Ellipsis">ellipsis</a> of letters following the initial part. The <a href="/wiki/Forward_slash" class="mw-redirect" title="Forward slash">forward slash</a> is still common in many dialects for some fixed expressions—such as in w/ for "with" or A/C for "<a href="/wiki/Air_conditioning" title="Air conditioning">air conditioning</a>"—while only infrequently being used to abbreviate new terms. The <a href="/wiki/Apostrophe" title="Apostrophe">apostrophe</a> is common for <a href="/wiki/Contraction_(grammar)#English" title="Contraction (grammar)">grammatical contractions</a> (e.g. don't, <a href="/wiki/Y%27all" title="Y'all">y'all</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Ain%27t" title="Ain't">ain't</a>) and for contractions marking unusual pronunciations (e.g. a'ight, cap'n, and fo'c'sle for "all right", "captain", and "forecastle"). By the early twentieth century, it was standard to use a <a href="/wiki/Full_stop" title="Full stop">full stop/period/point</a>, especially in the cases of initialisms and acronyms. Previously, especially for <a href="/wiki/Latin_abbreviations" class="mw-redirect" title="Latin abbreviations">Latin abbreviations</a>, this was done with a full space between every full word (e.g. A. D., i. e., and e. g. for "<a href="/wiki/Anno_Domini" title="Anno Domini">Anno Domini</a>", "<a href="/wiki/Id_est" class="mw-redirect" title="Id est">id est</a>", and "<a href="/wiki/Exempli_gratia" class="mw-redirect" title="Exempli gratia">exempli gratia</a>"). This even included punctuation after both <a href="/wiki/Roman_numerals" title="Roman numerals">Roman</a> and <a href="/wiki/Arabic_numerals" title="Arabic numerals">Arabic numerals</a> to indicate their use in place of the full names of each number (e.g. LII. or 52. in place of "fifty-two" and "1/4." or "1./4." to indicate "one-fourth"). Both conventions have fallen out of common use in all dialects of English, except in places where an Arabic <a href="/wiki/Decimal_number" class="mw-redirect" title="Decimal number">decimal</a> includes a medial <a href="/wiki/Decimal_point" class="mw-redirect" title="Decimal point">decimal point</a>. Particularly in <a href="/wiki/British_English" title="British English">British</a> and <a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Commonwealth English">Commonwealth English</a>, all such punctuation marking acronyms and other capitalized abbreviations is now uncommon and considered either unnecessary or incorrect. The presence of all-capital letters is now thought sufficient to indicate the nature of the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">UK</a>, the <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">EU</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">UN</a>. Forms such as the U.S.A. for "the <a href="/wiki/United_States_of_America" class="mw-redirect" title="United States of America">United States of America</a>" are now considered to indicate <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American</a> or <a href="/wiki/North_American_English" title="North American English">North American English</a>. Even within those dialects, such punctuation is becoming increasingly uncommon.<a href="#cite_note-50">[50]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading5"><h5 id="Ellipsis-is-understood_style">Ellipsis-is-understood style</h5>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Ellipsis-is-understood style">edit</a>]</div> Some <a href="/wiki/Style_guide" title="Style guide">style guides</a>, such as that of the <a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a>, no longer require punctuation to show <a href="/wiki/Ellipsis" title="Ellipsis">ellipsis</a>; some even proscribe it. <a href="/wiki/Larry_Trask" title="Larry Trask">Larry Trask</a>, American author of The <a href="/wiki/Penguin_Books" title="Penguin Books">Penguin</a> Guide to Punctuation, states categorically that, in <a href="/wiki/British_English" title="British English">British English</a>, "this tiresome and unnecessary practice is now obsolete."<a href="#cite_note-51">[51]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading5"><h5 id="Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_periods">Pronunciation-dependent style and periods</h5>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Pronunciation-dependent style and periods">edit</a>]</div> Nevertheless, some influential <a href="/wiki/Style_guide" title="Style guide">style guides</a>, many of them <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American</a>, still require periods in certain instances. For example, <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Manual_of_Style_and_Usage" title="The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage">The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage</a> recommends following each segment with a period when the letters are pronounced individually, as in "<a href="/wiki/KGB" title="KGB">K.G.B.</a>", but not when pronounced as a word, as in "<a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a>".<a href="#cite_note-NY_Times-52">[52]</a> The logic of this style is that the pronunciation is reflected graphically by the punctuation scheme. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading5"><h5 id="Other_conventions">Other conventions</h5>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Other conventions">edit</a>]</div> When a multiple-letter abbreviation is formed from a single word, periods are in general not used, although they may be common in informal usage. "TV", for example, may stand for a single word ("television" or "transvestite", for instance), and is in general spelled without punctuation (except in the plural). Although "PS" stands for the single English word "<a href="/wiki/Postscript" title="Postscript">postscript</a>" or the Latin postscriptum, it is often spelled with periods ("P.S.") as if parsed as Latin post scriptum instead. The <a href="/wiki/Slash_(punctuation)" title="Slash (punctuation)">slash</a> ('/', or solidus) is sometimes used to separate the letters in an acronym, as in "N/A" ("not applicable, not available") and "c/o" ("care of"). Inconveniently long words used frequently in related contexts can be represented according to their letter count as a <a href="/wiki/Numeronym" title="Numeronym">numeronym</a>. For example, "i18n" abbreviates "<a href="/wiki/Internationalization" title="Internationalization">internationalization</a>", a computer-science term for adapting software for worldwide use; the "18" represents the 18 letters that come between the first and the last in "internationalization". Similarly, "localization" can be abbreviated "l10n"; "<a href="/w/index.php?title=Multilingualization&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Multilingualization (page does not exist)">multilingualization</a>" "m17n"; and "<a href="/wiki/Accessibility" title="Accessibility">accessibility</a>" "a11y". In addition to the use of a specific number replacing that many letters, the more general "x" can be used to replace an unspecified number of letters. Examples include "Crxn" for "crystallization" and the series familiar to physicians for <a href="/wiki/Medical_history" title="Medical history">history</a>, <a href="/wiki/Medical_diagnosis" title="Medical diagnosis">diagnosis</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Therapy" title="Therapy">treatment</a> ("hx", "dx", "tx"). Terms relating to a command structure may also sometimes use this formatting, for example gold, silver, and bronze levels of command in UK policing being referred to as Gx, Sx, and Bx. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Representing_plurals_and_possessives">Representing plurals and possessives</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Representing plurals and possessives">edit</a>]</div> There is a question about how to pluralize acronyms. Often a writer will add an 's' following an apostrophe, as in "PC's". However, <a href="/wiki/Kate_L._Turabian" title="Kate L. Turabian">Kate L. Turabian</a>'s <a href="/wiki/A_Manual_for_Writers_of_Research_Papers,_Theses,_and_Dissertations" title="A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations">A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations</a>, writing about style in academic writings,<a href="#cite_note-Chicago-53">[53]</a> allows for an apostrophe to form plural acronyms "only when an abbreviation contains internal periods or both capital and lowercase letters". Turabian would therefore prefer "DVDs" and "URLs" but "Ph.D.'s". The style guides of the <a href="/wiki/Modern_Language_Association" title="Modern Language Association">Modern Language Association</a><a href="#cite_note-MLA-54">[54]</a> and <a href="/wiki/American_Psychological_Association" title="American Psychological Association">American Psychological Association</a><a href="#cite_note-APA-55">[55]</a><a href="#cite_note-autogenerated1-56">[56]</a> prohibit apostrophes from being used to pluralize acronyms regardless of periods (so "compact discs" would be "CDs" or "C.D.s"), whereas <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Manual_of_Style_and_Usage" title="The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage">The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage</a> requires an apostrophe when pluralizing all abbreviations regardless of periods (preferring "PC's, TV's and VCR's").<a href="#cite_note-57">[57]</a> Possessive plurals that also include apostrophes for mere pluralization and periods appear especially complex: for example, "the C.D.'s' labels" (the labels of the compact discs). In some instances, however, an apostrophe may increase clarity: for example, if the final letter of an abbreviation is "S", as in "SOS's" (although abbreviations ending with S can also take "-es", e.g. "SOSes"), or when pluralizing an abbreviation that has periods.<a href="#cite_note-58">[58]</a><a href="#cite_note-59">[59]</a> A particularly rich source of options arises when the plural of an acronym would normally be indicated in a word other than the final word if spelled out in full. A classic example is "Member of Parliament", which in plural is "Members of Parliament". It is possible then to abbreviate this as "M's P", which was fairly common in mid-twentieth-century Australian news writing<a href="#cite_note-60">[60]</a><a href="#cite_note-61">[61]</a> (or similar<a href="#cite_note-62">[62]</a>), and used by former Australian Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Ben_Chifley" title="Ben Chifley">Ben Chifley</a>.<a href="#cite_note-63">[63]</a><a href="#cite_note-64">[64]</a><a href="#cite_note-65">[65]</a> This usage is less common than forms with "s" at the end, such as "MPs", and may appear dated or pedantic. In common usage, therefore, "weapons of mass destruction" becomes "WMDs", "prisoners of war" becomes "POWs", and "runs batted in" becomes "RBIs".<a href="#cite_note-66">[66]</a> Abbreviations that come from single, rather than multiple, words – such as "TV" ("television") – are usually pluralized without apostrophes ("two TVs"); most writers feel that the apostrophe should be reserved for the possessive ("the TV's antenna").[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] In some languages, the convention of doubling the letters in the acronym is used to indicate plural words: for example, the Spanish EE.UU., for Estados Unidos ('United States'). This old convention is still sometimes followed for a limited number of English abbreviations, such as SS. for Saints, pp. for the plural of 'pages', or mss. for manuscripts.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/English_possessive" title="English possessive">English possessive</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Case">Case</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Case">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="All-caps_style">All-caps style</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: All-caps style">edit</a>]</div> The most common <a href="/wiki/Capitalization" title="Capitalization">capitalization</a> scheme seen with acronyms is all-uppercase (<a href="/wiki/All_caps" title="All caps">all caps</a>). <a href="/wiki/Small_caps" title="Small caps">Small caps</a> are sometimes used to make the run of capital letters seem less jarring to the reader. For example, the style of some American publications, including the <a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Monthly" class="mw-redirect" title="Atlantic Monthly">Atlantic Monthly</a> and <a href="/wiki/USA_Today" title="USA Today">USA Today</a>, is to use small caps for acronyms longer than three letters;[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] thus "U.S." and "<a href="/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">FDR</a>" in normal caps, but "<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r920966791">.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps{font-variant:small-caps}.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps-smaller{font-size:85%}</style>nato" in small caps. The acronyms "<a href="/wiki/Anno_Domini" title="Anno Domini">AD</a>" and "<a href="/wiki/Before_Christ" class="mw-redirect" title="Before Christ">BC</a>" are often smallcapped as well, as in: "From 4004 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">bc to <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">ad 525". <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Normal_case_and_anacronyms">Normal case and anacronyms</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Normal case and anacronyms">edit</a>]</div> Where an acronym has linguistically taken on an identity as regular word, the acronym may use normal case rules, e.g. it would appear generally in lower case, but with an initial capital when starting a sentence or when in a title. Once knowledge of the words underlying such an acronym has faded from common recall, the acronym may be termed an anacronym.<a href="#cite_note-67">[67]</a> Examples of anacronyms are the words "<a href="/wiki/Scuba_set" title="Scuba set">scuba</a>", "<a href="/wiki/Radar" title="Radar">radar</a>", and "<a href="/wiki/Laser" title="Laser">laser</a>". The word "anacronym" should not be confused with the word "<a href="/wiki/Misnomer#Anachronym" title="Misnomer">anachronym</a>", which is a type of misnomer. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Mixed-case_variant">Mixed-case variant</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Mixed-case variant">edit</a>]</div> Words derived from an acronym by affixing are typically expressed in mixed case, so the root acronym is clear. For example, "pre-WWII politics", "post-NATO world", "<a href="/wiki/DNase" class="mw-redirect" title="DNase">DNase</a>". In some cases a derived acronym may also be expressed in mixed case. For example, "<a href="/wiki/Messenger_RNA" title="Messenger RNA">messenger RNA</a>" and "<a href="/wiki/Transfer_RNA" title="Transfer RNA">transfer RNA</a>" become "mRNA" and "tRNA". <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Pronunciation-dependent_style_and_case">Pronunciation-dependent style and case</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Pronunciation-dependent style and case">edit</a>]</div> Some publications choose to capitalize only the first letter of acronyms, reserving all-caps styling for initialisms, writing the pronounced acronyms "Nato" and "Aids" in mixed case, but the initialisms "USA" and "FBI" in all caps. For example, this is the style used in <a href="/wiki/The_Guardian" title="The Guardian">The Guardian</a>,<a href="#cite_note-68">[68]</a> and <a href="/wiki/BBC_News" title="BBC News">BBC News</a> typically edits to this style (though its official style guide, dating from 2003, still recommends all-caps<a href="#cite_note-69">[69]</a>). The logic of this style is that the pronunciation is reflected graphically by the capitalization scheme. However, it conflicts with conventional English usage of first-letter upper-casing as a marker of proper names in many cases; e.g. AIDS stands for acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome which is not a proper name, while Aids is in the style of one. Some style manuals also base the letters' <a href="/wiki/Letter_case" title="Letter case">case</a> on their number. <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a>, for example, keeps "NATO" in all capitals (while several guides in the British press may render it "Nato"), but uses lower case in "<a href="/wiki/United_Nations_Children%27s_Fund" class="mw-redirect" title="United Nations Children's Fund">Unicef</a>" (from "United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund") because it is more than four letters, and to style it in caps might look ungainly (flirting with the appearance of "shouting capitals"). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Numerals_and_constituent_words">Numerals and constituent words</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Numerals and constituent words">edit</a>]</div> While abbreviations typically exclude the initials of short <a href="/wiki/Function_word" title="Function word">function words</a> (such as "and", "or", "of", or "to"), this is not always the case. Sometimes function words are included to make a pronounceable acronym, such as CORE (<a href="/wiki/Congress_of_Racial_Equality" title="Congress of Racial Equality">Congress of Racial Equality</a>). Sometimes the letters representing these words are written in lower case, such as in the cases of "TfL" ("<a href="/wiki/Transport_for_London" title="Transport for London">Transport for London</a>") and LotR (<a href="/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings" title="The Lord of the Rings">The Lord of the Rings</a>); this usually occurs when the acronym represents a multi-word proper noun. Numbers (both <a href="/wiki/Cardinal_number" title="Cardinal number">cardinal</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ordinal_number" title="Ordinal number">ordinal</a>) in names are often represented by <a href="/wiki/Numerical_digit" title="Numerical digit">digits</a> rather than initial letters, as in "4GL" ("<a href="/wiki/Fourth_generation_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Fourth generation language">fourth generation language</a>") or "G77" ("<a href="/wiki/Group_of_77" title="Group of 77">Group of 77</a>"). Large numbers may use <a href="/wiki/SI_prefix#Use_outside_SI" class="mw-redirect" title="SI prefix">metric prefixes</a>, as with "<a href="/wiki/2000" title="2000">Y2K</a>" for "Year 2000". Exceptions using initials for numbers include "<a href="/wiki/Three_letter_acronym" class="mw-redirect" title="Three letter acronym">TLA</a>" ("three-letter acronym/abbreviation") and "GoF" ("<a href="/wiki/Gang_of_Four_(software)" class="mw-redirect" title="Gang of Four (software)">Gang of Four</a>"). Abbreviations using numbers for other purposes include repetitions, such as "<a href="/wiki/A2DP" class="mw-redirect" title="A2DP">A2DP</a>" ("Advanced Audio Distribution Profile"), "<a href="/wiki/W3C" class="mw-redirect" title="W3C">W3C</a>" ("World Wide Web Consortium"), and <a href="/wiki/WVOX#Notable_Past_Programming" title="WVOX">T3</a> (Trends, Tips & Tools for Everyday Living); pronunciation, such as "<a href="/wiki/Business-to-business" title="Business-to-business">B2B</a>" ("business to business"); and <a href="/wiki/Numeronym" title="Numeronym">numeronyms</a>, such as "i18n" ("internationalization"; "18" represents the 18 letters between the initial "i" and the final "n"). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Casing_of_expansions">Casing of expansions</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Casing of expansions">edit</a>]</div> Authors of <a href="/wiki/Expository_writing" class="mw-redirect" title="Expository writing">expository writing</a> will sometimes capitalize or otherwise distinctively format the initials of the expansion for <a href="/wiki/Pedagogical" class="mw-redirect" title="Pedagogical">pedagogical</a> emphasis (for example, writing: "the onset of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)" or "the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF)"). Capitalization like this, however, conflicts with the convention of English orthography, which generally reserves capitals in the middle of sentences for proper nouns; when following the <a href="/wiki/AMA_Manual_of_Style" title="AMA Manual of Style">AMA Manual of Style</a>, this would instead be rendered as "the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF)".<a href="#cite_note-AMA10p442-70">[70]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Changes_to_(or_wordplay_on)_the_expanded_meaning">Changes to (or wordplay on) the expanded meaning</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Changes to (or wordplay on) the expanded meaning">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Pseudo-acronyms_and_orphan_initialisms">Pseudo-acronyms and orphan initialisms</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Pseudo-acronyms and orphan initialisms">edit</a>]</div> Some apparent acronyms or other abbreviations do not stand for anything and cannot be expanded to some meaning. Such pseudo-acronyms may be pronunciation-based, such as "BBQ" (bee-bee-cue), for "barbecue", and "K9" (kay-nine) for "canine". Pseudo-acronyms also frequently develop as "orphan initialisms": an existing acronym is redefined as a non-acronymous name, severing its link to its previous meaning.<a href="#cite_note-upenn-71">[71]</a><a href="#cite_note-about-72">[72]</a> For example, the letters of the "<a href="/wiki/SAT" title="SAT">SAT</a>", a US college entrance test originally dubbed "Scholastic Aptitude Test", no longer officially stand for anything.<a href="#cite_note-73">[73]</a><a href="#cite_note-74">[74]</a> The US-based <a href="/wiki/Abortion-rights_movements" class="mw-redirect" title="Abortion-rights movements">abortion-rights</a> organization "<a href="/wiki/NARAL_Pro-Choice_America" class="mw-redirect" title="NARAL Pro-Choice America">NARAL</a>" is another example of this; in that case, the organization changed its name three times, with the long-form of the name always corresponding to the letters "NARAL", before eventually opting to simply be known by the short-form, without being connected to a long-form. This is common with companies that want to retain <a href="/wiki/Brand_recognition" class="mw-redirect" title="Brand recognition">brand recognition</a> while moving away from an outdated image: American Telephone and Telegraph became <a href="/wiki/AT%26T_Corporation" title="AT&T Corporation">AT&T</a><a href="#cite_note-upenn-71">[71]</a> and <a href="/wiki/BP" title="BP">British Petroleum</a> became BP.<a href="#cite_note-about-72">[72]</a><a href="#cite_note-75">[75]</a> <a href="/wiki/RT_(TV_network)" title="RT (TV network)">Russia Today</a> has rebranded itself as RT. <a href="/wiki/American_Movie_Classics" class="mw-redirect" title="American Movie Classics">American Movie Classics</a> has simply rebranded itself as AMC. Genzyme Transgenics Corporation became GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc.; <a href="/wiki/The_Learning_Channel" class="mw-redirect" title="The Learning Channel">The Learning Channel</a> became TLC; <a href="/wiki/MTV" title="MTV">MTV</a> dropped the name Music Television out of its brand; and <a href="/wiki/American_District_Telegraph" class="mw-redirect" title="American District Telegraph">American District Telegraph</a> became simply known as ADT. "<a href="/wiki/KFC" title="KFC">Kentucky Fried Chicken</a>" went partway, re-branding itself with its initialism "KFC" to de-emphasize the role of frying in the preparation of its signature dishes, though they have since returned to using both interchangeably.<a href="#cite_note-76">[76]</a><a href="#cite_note-77">[a]</a> The East Coast Hockey League became the <a href="/wiki/ECHL" title="ECHL">ECHL</a> when it expanded to include cities in the western United States prior to the 2003–2004 season. Pseudo-acronyms may have advantages in international markets:[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch">according to whom?</a>] for example, some national <a href="/wiki/Affiliate_(commerce)" title="Affiliate (commerce)">affiliates</a> of <a href="/wiki/International_Business_Machines" class="mw-redirect" title="International Business Machines">International Business Machines</a> are legally incorporated with "IBM" in their names (for example, IBM Canada) to avoid translating the full name into local languages.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] Likewise, <a href="/wiki/UBS_AG" class="mw-redirect" title="UBS AG">UBS</a> is the name of the merged <a href="/wiki/Union_Bank_of_Switzerland" title="Union Bank of Switzerland">Union Bank of Switzerland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Swiss_Bank_Corporation" title="Swiss Bank Corporation">Swiss Bank Corporation</a>,<a href="#cite_note-78">[77]</a> and <a href="/wiki/HSBC" title="HSBC">HSBC</a> has replaced the long name Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Some companies which have a name giving a clear indication of their place of origin will choose to use acronyms when expanding to foreign markets: for example, <a href="/wiki/Toronto-Dominion_Bank" title="Toronto-Dominion Bank">Toronto-Dominion Bank</a> continues to operate under the full name in Canada, but its U.S. subsidiary is known as <a href="/wiki/TD_Bank,_N.A." class="mw-redirect" title="TD Bank, N.A.">TD Bank</a>, just as <a href="/wiki/Royal_Bank_of_Canada" title="Royal Bank of Canada">Royal Bank of Canada</a> used its full name in Canada (a <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy" title="Constitutional monarchy">constitutional monarchy</a>), but its U.S. subsidiary is called <a href="/wiki/RBC_Bank" title="RBC Bank">RBC Bank</a>. The India-based <a href="/wiki/JSW_Group" title="JSW Group">JSW Group</a> of companies is another example of the original name (Jindal South West Group) being re-branded into a pseudo-acronym while expanding into other geographical areas in and outside of India. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndrome">Redundant acronyms and RAS syndrome</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Redundant acronyms and RAS syndrome">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/RAS_syndrome" title="RAS syndrome">RAS syndrome</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1248332772">.mw-parser-output .multiple-issues-text{width:95%;margin:0.2em 0}.mw-parser-output .multiple-issues-text>.mw-collapsible-content{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox{border:none;border-collapse:collapse;background-color:transparent;margin:0 0 0 1.6em!important;padding:0!important;width:auto;display:block}body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox.mbox-small-left{font-size:100%;width:auto;margin:0}.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox .mbox-text{padding:0!important;margin:0!important}.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox .mbox-text-span{display:list-item;line-height:1.5em;list-style-type:disc}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .multiple-issues-text>.mw-collapsible-toggle,.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox .mbox-image,.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox .mbox-imageright,.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .ambox .mbox-empty-cell,.mw-parser-output .compact-ambox .hide-when-compact{display:none}</style><table class="box-Multiple_issues plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-multiple_issues compact-ambox" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span"><div class="multiple-issues-text mw-collapsible">This section has multiple issues. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Acronym" title="Special:EditPage/Acronym">improve it</a> or discuss these issues on the <a href="/wiki/Talk:Acronym" title="Talk:Acronym">talk page</a>. (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove these messages</a>) <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a>. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Acronym" title="Special:EditPage/Acronym">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>. (October 2017) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Original_research plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Original_research" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section possibly contains <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research">original research</a>. Please <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit">improve it</a> by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verifying</a> the claims made and adding <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a>. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (October 2017) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> </div> </div> (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> Rebranding can lead to <a href="/wiki/RAS_syndrome" title="RAS syndrome">redundant acronym syndrome</a>, as when <a href="/wiki/Trustee_Savings_Bank" title="Trustee Savings Bank">Trustee Savings Bank</a> became TSB Bank, or when <a href="/wiki/Railway_Express_Agency" title="Railway Express Agency">Railway Express Agency</a> became REA Express. A few <a href="/wiki/High-tech" class="mw-redirect" title="High-tech">high-tech</a> companies have taken the redundant acronym to the extreme: for example, ISM Information Systems Management Corp. and SHL Systemhouse Ltd. Examples in entertainment include the television shows <a href="/wiki/CSI:_Crime_Scene_Investigation" title="CSI: Crime Scene Investigation">CSI: Crime Scene Investigation</a> and <a href="/wiki/NCIS_(TV_series)" title="NCIS (TV series)">Navy: NCIS</a> ("Navy" was dropped in the second season), where the redundancy was likely designed to educate new viewers as to what the initials stood for. The same reasoning was in evidence when the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Bank_of_Canada" title="Royal Bank of Canada">Royal Bank of Canada</a>'s Canadian operations rebranded to RBC Royal Bank, or when <a href="/wiki/Bank_of_Montreal" title="Bank of Montreal">Bank of Montreal</a> rebranded their retail banking subsidiary BMO Bank of Montreal. Another common example is "<a href="/wiki/Random-access_memory" title="Random-access memory">RAM</a> memory", which is redundant because "RAM" ("random-access memory") includes the initial of the word "memory". "PIN" stands for "personal identification number", obviating the second word in "<a href="/wiki/Personal_identification_number" title="Personal identification number">PIN</a> number"; in this case its retention may be motivated to avoid ambiguity with the homophonous word "pin". Other examples include "<a href="/wiki/Automated_teller_machine" class="mw-redirect" title="Automated teller machine">ATM</a> machine", "<a href="/wiki/European_American_Bank" class="mw-redirect" title="European American Bank">EAB</a> bank", "<a href="/wiki/HIV" title="HIV">HIV</a> virus", Microsoft's <a href="/wiki/Windows_NT" title="Windows NT">NT</a> Technology, and the formerly redundant "<a href="/wiki/SAT" title="SAT">SAT</a> test", now simply "SAT Reasoning Test"). <a href="/wiki/Spike_(TV_network)" class="mw-redirect" title="Spike (TV network)">TNN</a> (The Nashville/National Network) also renamed itself "The New TNN" for a brief interlude. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Redefined_acronyms">Redefined acronyms</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Redefined acronyms">edit</a>]</div> In some cases, while the initials in an acronym may stay the same, for what those letters stand may change. Examples include the following: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/DVD" title="DVD">DVD</a> was originally an acronym for the unofficial term "digital video disc", but is now stated by the <a href="/wiki/DVD_Forum" title="DVD Forum">DVD Forum</a> as standing for "Digital Versatile Disc"[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_Accountability_Office" title="Government Accountability Office">GAO</a> changed the full form of its name from "General Accounting Office" to "Government Accountability Office"<a href="#cite_note-79">[78]</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_States_Government_Publishing_Office" title="United States Government Publishing Office">GPO</a> changed the full form of its name from "Government Printing Office" to "Government Publishing Office"<a href="#cite_note-80">[79]</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/RAID" title="RAID">RAID</a> was originally an acronym for "Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks" but has since been redefined as "Redundant Array of Independent Disks"<a href="#cite_note-81">[80]</a></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Union_for_International_Cancer_Control" title="Union for International Cancer Control">UICC</a> was founded as the "International Union Against Cancer",<a href="#cite_note-82">[81]</a> and its initials originally came from the <a href="/wiki/Romance_languages" title="Romance languages">Romance-language</a> versions of that name (such as French Union Internationale Contre le Cancer). The English expansion of its name has since been changed to "Union for International Cancer Control" so that it would also correspond to the UICC acronym.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_Wide_Fund_for_Nature" title="World Wide Fund for Nature">WWF</a> was originally an acronym for "World Wildlife Fund", but now stands for "World Wide Fund for Nature" (although the organization's branches in the U.S. and Canada still use the original name)<a href="#cite_note-83">[82]</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Backronyms">Backronyms</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Backronyms">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Backronym" title="Backronym">Backronym</a></div> A backronym (or bacronym) is a <a href="/wiki/Phrase" title="Phrase">phrase</a> that is constructed "after the fact" from a previously existing word. For example, the novelist and critic <a href="/wiki/Anthony_Burgess" title="Anthony Burgess">Anthony Burgess</a> once proposed that the word "book" ought to stand for "box of organized knowledge".<a href="#cite_note-84">[83]</a> A classic real-world example of this is the name of the predecessor to the Apple Macintosh, the <a href="/wiki/Apple_Lisa" title="Apple Lisa">Apple Lisa</a>, which was said to refer to "Local Integrated Software Architecture", but was actually named after Steve Jobs's daughter, born in 1978. Backronyms are oftentimes used for comedic effect[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>]. An example of creating a backronym for comedic effect would be in naming a group or organization, the name "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M." stands for (among other things) "a clever regiment of nerdy young men". <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Contrived_acronyms">Contrived acronyms</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Contrived acronyms">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Tone plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-Tone" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/40px-Edit-clear.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/60px-Edit-clear.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/80px-Edit-clear.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section's tone or style may not reflect the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Tone" title="Wikipedia:Writing better articles">encyclopedic tone</a> used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Tone" title="Wikipedia:Writing better articles">guide to writing better articles</a> for suggestions. (January 2024) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> Acronyms are sometimes <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contrive#Verb" class="extiw" title="wikt:contrive">contrived</a>, that is, deliberately designed to be especially apt for the thing being named (by having a dual meaning or by borrowing the positive connotations of an existing word). Some examples of contrived acronyms are <a href="/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="USA PATRIOT Act">USA PATRIOT</a>, <a href="/wiki/Can_Spam_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Can Spam Act">CAN SPAM</a>, <a href="/wiki/CAPTCHA" title="CAPTCHA">CAPTCHA</a> and <a href="/wiki/AIDS_Coalition_to_Unleash_Power" class="mw-redirect" title="AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power">ACT UP</a>.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] The clothing company <a href="/wiki/French_Connection_(clothing)" title="French Connection (clothing)">French Connection</a> began referring to itself as fcuk, standing for "French Connection United Kingdom". The company then created T-shirts and several advertising campaigns that exploit the acronym's similarity to the taboo word "<a href="/wiki/Fuck" title="Fuck">fuck</a>". Contrived acronyms find frequent use as names of <a href="/wiki/List_of_fictional_espionage_organizations" title="List of fictional espionage organizations">fictional agencies</a>, with a famous example being frequent <a href="/wiki/James_Bond" title="James Bond">James Bond</a> antagonist organization <a href="/wiki/SPECTRE" title="SPECTRE">SPECTRE</a> (SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). The <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense" title="United States Department of Defense">U.S. Department of Defense</a>'s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (<a href="/wiki/DARPA" title="DARPA">DARPA</a>) is known for developing contrived acronyms to name projects, including RESURRECT, NIRVANA, and DUDE. In July 2010, <a href="/wiki/Wired_(magazine)" title="Wired (magazine)">Wired</a> magazine reported that DARPA announced programs to "transform biology from a descriptive to a predictive field of science" named BATMAN and ROBIN for "Biochronicity and Temporal Mechanisms Arising in Nature" and "Robustness of Biologically-Inspired Networks",<a href="#cite_note-85">[84]</a> a reference to the <a href="/wiki/Batman" title="Batman">Batman</a> and <a href="/wiki/Robin_(comics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Robin (comics)">Robin</a> comic-book superheroes. The short-form <a href="/wiki/Clinical_trial_naming_conventions" title="Clinical trial naming conventions">names of clinical trials</a> and other scientific studies constitute a large class of acronyms that includes many contrived examples, as well as many with a partial rather than complete correspondence of letters to expansion components. These trials tend to have full names that are accurately descriptive of what the trial is about but are thus also too long to serve practically as <a href="/wiki/Name" title="Name">names</a> within the syntax of a sentence, so a short name is also developed, which can serve as a syntactically useful handle and also provide at least a degree of <a href="/wiki/Mnemonic" title="Mnemonic">mnemonic</a> reminder as to the full name. Examples widely known in <a href="/wiki/Medicine" title="Medicine">medicine</a> include the ALLHAT trial (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial) and the CHARM trial (Candesartan in Heart Failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and Morbidity). The fact that <a href="/wiki/RAS_syndrome" title="RAS syndrome">RAS syndrome</a> is often involved, as well as that the letters often do not entirely match, have sometimes been pointed out by annoyed researchers preoccupied by the idea that because the <a href="/wiki/Archetype" title="Archetype">archetypal</a> form of acronyms originated with one-to-one letter matching, there must be some impropriety in their ever deviating from that form. However, the <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/raison_d%27%C3%AAtre" class="extiw" title="wikt:raison d'être">raison d'être</a> of clinical trial acronyms, as with <a href="/wiki/Gene_nomenclature#Symbol_and_name" title="Gene nomenclature">gene and protein symbols</a>, is simply to have a syntactically usable and easily <a href="/wiki/Recall_(memory)" title="Recall (memory)">recalled</a> short name to complement the long name that is often syntactically unusable and not <a href="/wiki/Memorization" title="Memorization">memorized</a>. It is useful for the short name to give a reminder of the long name, which supports the reasonable censure of "cutesy" examples that provide little to no hint of it. But beyond that reasonably close correspondence, the short name's chief utility is in functioning cognitively as a <a href="/wiki/Name" title="Name">name</a>, rather than being a <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cryptic#Adjective" class="extiw" title="wikt:cryptic">cryptic</a> and forgettable string, albeit faithful to the matching of letters. However, other reasonable critiques have been (1) that it is irresponsible to mention trial acronyms without explaining them at least once by providing the long names somewhere in the document,<a href="#cite_note-PMID-12767559-86">[85]</a> and (2) that the proliferation of trial acronyms has resulted in ambiguity, such as three different trials all called ASPECT, which is another reason why failing to explain them somewhere in the document is irresponsible in scientific communication.<a href="#cite_note-PMID-12767559-86">[85]</a> At least one study has evaluated the <a href="/wiki/Citation_impact" title="Citation impact">citation impact</a> and other traits of acronym-named trials compared with others,<a href="#cite_note-PMID-16823008-87">[86]</a> finding both good aspects (mnemonic help, name recall) and potential flaws (<a href="/wiki/Connotation" title="Connotation">connotatively</a> driven <a href="/wiki/Bias" title="Bias">bias</a>).<a href="#cite_note-PMID-16823008-87">[86]</a> Some acronyms are chosen deliberately to avoid a name considered undesirable: For example, <a href="/wiki/Verliebt_in_Berlin" title="Verliebt in Berlin">Verliebt in Berlin</a> (ViB), a German <a href="/wiki/Telenovela" title="Telenovela">telenovela</a>, was first intended to be Alles nur aus Liebe ('All for Love'), but was changed to avoid the resultant acronym <a href="/wiki/Anus" title="Anus">ANAL</a>. Likewise, the Computer Literacy and Internet Technology qualification is known as CLaIT,<a href="#cite_note-CIE.org.uk_CLaIT-88">[87]</a> rather than <a href="/wiki/Clitoris" title="Clitoris">CLIT</a>. In Canada, the <a href="/wiki/Canadian_Alliance" title="Canadian Alliance">Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance (Party)</a> was quickly renamed to the "Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance" when its opponents pointed out that its initials spelled CCRAP (pronounced "see <a href="/wiki/Feces" title="Feces">crap</a>"). Two Irish institutes of technology (Galway and Tralee) chose different acronyms from other institutes when they were upgraded from regional technical colleges. Tralee RTC became the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT), as opposed to Tralee Institute of Technology (<a href="/wiki/Breast" title="Breast">TIT</a>). Galway RTC became Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), as opposed to Galway Institute of Technology (<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/git" class="extiw" title="wikt:git">GIT</a>). The charity sports organization <a href="/wiki/Leukemia_%26_Lymphoma_Society#Fundraising" title="Leukemia & Lymphoma Society">Team in Training</a> is known as "TNT" and not "TIT". <a href="/wiki/Technological_Institute_of_Textile_%26_Sciences" title="Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences">Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences</a>, however, is still known as "TITS". <a href="/wiki/George_Mason_University" title="George Mason University">George Mason University</a> was planning to name their law school the "Antonin Scalia School of Law" (<a href="/wiki/Asshole" title="Asshole">ASSOL</a>) in honor of the late <a href="/wiki/Antonin_Scalia" title="Antonin Scalia">Antonin Scalia</a>, only to change it to the "<a href="/wiki/Antonin_Scalia_Law_School" title="Antonin Scalia Law School">Antonin Scalia Law School</a>" later.<a href="#cite_note-89">[88]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Macronyms/nested_acronyms">Macronyms/nested acronyms</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Macronyms/nested acronyms">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1248332772"><table class="box-Multiple_issues plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-multiple_issues compact-ambox" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span"><div class="multiple-issues-text mw-collapsible">This section has multiple issues. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Acronym" title="Special:EditPage/Acronym">improve it</a> or discuss these issues on the <a href="/wiki/Talk:Acronym" title="Talk:Acronym">talk page</a>. (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove these messages</a>) <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a>. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Acronym" title="Special:EditPage/Acronym">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2020) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Original_research plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Original_research" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section possibly contains <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research">original research</a>. Please <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit">improve it</a> by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verifying</a> the claims made and adding <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a>. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (February 2020) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> </div> </div> (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> A macronym, or nested acronym, is an acronym in which one or more letters stand for acronyms (or abbreviations) themselves. The word "macronym" is a <a href="/wiki/Portmanteau" class="mw-redirect" title="Portmanteau">portmanteau</a> of "<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/macro-" class="extiw" title="wikt:macro-">macro-</a>" and "acronym". Some examples of macronyms are: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/XMLHttpRequest" title="XMLHttpRequest">XHR</a> stands for "XML HTTP Request", in which "<a href="/wiki/XML" title="XML">XML</a>" is "Extensible Markup Language", and <a href="/wiki/HTTP" title="HTTP">HTTP</a> stands for "HyperText Transfer Protocol"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/IBM_Power_microprocessors" title="IBM Power microprocessors">POWER</a> stands for "Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC", in which "<a href="/wiki/RISC" class="mw-redirect" title="RISC">RISC</a>" stands for "reduced instruction set computer"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/VHDL" title="VHDL">VHDL</a> stands for "VHSIC Hardware Description Language", in which "<a href="/wiki/VHSIC" class="mw-redirect" title="VHSIC">VHSIC</a>" stands for "Very High Speed Integrated Circuit"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/XSD" class="mw-redirect" title="XSD">XSD</a> stands for "XML Schema Definition", in which "<a href="/wiki/XML" title="XML">XML</a>" stands for "Extensible Markup Language"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/AOL_Instant_Messenger" class="mw-redirect" title="AOL Instant Messenger">AIM</a> stands for "AOL Instant Messenger", in which "<a href="/wiki/AOL" title="AOL">AOL</a>" originally stood for "America Online"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Houston_Automatic_Spooling_Priority" title="Houston Automatic Spooling Priority">HASP</a> stood for "Houston Automatic Spooling Priority", but "<a href="/wiki/Spooling" title="Spooling">spooling</a>" itself was an acronym: "simultaneous peripheral operations on-line"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/VORTAC" class="mw-redirect" title="VORTAC">VORTAC</a> stands for "VOR+TACAN", in which "VOR" is "<a href="/wiki/VHF_omnidirectional_range" title="VHF omnidirectional range">VHF omnidirectional range</a>" (where VHF = very high frequency radio) and "TAC" is short for <a href="/wiki/TACAN" class="mw-redirect" title="TACAN">TACAN</a>, which stands for "tactical air navigation"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Global_Information_Assurance_Certification" title="Global Information Assurance Certification">Global Information Assurance Certification</a> has a number of nested acronyms for its certifications, e.g. "GSEC" is an acronym for "GIAC Security Essentials"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/REM_behaviour_disorder" class="mw-redirect" title="REM behaviour disorder">RBD</a> stands for "REM Behavior Disorder", in which "<a href="/wiki/Rapid_eye_movement_sleep" title="Rapid eye movement sleep">REM</a>" stands for "rapid eye movement"</li></ul> Some macronyms can be multiply nested: the second-order acronym points to another one further down a hierarchy. In an informal competition run by the magazine <a href="/wiki/New_Scientist" title="New Scientist">New Scientist</a>, a fully documented specimen was discovered that may be the most deeply nested of all: RARS is the "Regional ATOVS Retransmission Service"; ATOVS is "Advanced TOVS"; TOVS is "<a href="/wiki/TIROS" class="mw-redirect" title="TIROS">TIROS</a> operational vertical sounder"; and TIROS is "Television infrared observational satellite".<a href="#cite_note-90">[89]</a> Fully expanded, "RARS" might thus become "Regional Advanced Television Infrared Observational Satellite Operational Vertical Sounder Retransmission Service", which would produce the much more unwieldy acronym "RATIOSOVSRS". Another example is <a href="/wiki/VHDL-VITAL" title="VHDL-VITAL">VITAL</a>, which expands to "<a href="/wiki/VHDL" title="VHDL">VHDL</a> Initiative Towards <a href="/wiki/ASIC" class="mw-redirect" title="ASIC">ASIC</a> Libraries" (a total of 15 words when fully expanded). However, to say that "RARS" stands directly for that string of words, or can be interchanged with it in <a href="/wiki/Syntax" title="Syntax">syntax</a> (in the same way that "CHF" can be usefully interchanged with "congestive heart failure"), is a <a href="/wiki/Linguistic_prescription" title="Linguistic prescription">prescriptive</a> misapprehension rather than a linguistically accurate description; the true nature of such a term is closer to <a href="#All-caps_style">anacronymic</a> than to being interchangeable like simpler acronyms are. The latter are fully reducible in an attempt to "spell everything out and avoid all abbreviations", but the former are irreducible in that respect; they can be <a href="/wiki/Gloss_(annotation)" title="Gloss (annotation)">annotated</a> with parenthetical explanations, but they cannot be eliminated from speech or writing in any useful or practical way. Just as the words laser and radar function as words in <a href="/wiki/Syntax" title="Syntax">syntax</a> and <a href="/wiki/Cognition" title="Cognition">cognition</a> without a need to focus on their acronymic origins, terms such as "RARS" and "<a href="/wiki/CHA2DS2%E2%80%93VASc_score" title="CHA2DS2–VASc score">CHA2DS2–VASc score</a>" are irreducible in <a href="/wiki/Natural_language" title="Natural language">natural language</a>; if they are purged, the form of language that is left may conform to some imposed rule, but it cannot be described as remaining natural. Similarly, <a href="/wiki/Protein" title="Protein">protein</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gene" title="Gene">gene</a> nomenclature, <a href="/wiki/Gene_nomenclature#Symbol_and_name" title="Gene nomenclature">which uses symbols extensively</a>, includes such terms as the name of the <a href="/wiki/NACHT_domain" title="NACHT domain">NACHT protein domain</a>, which reflects the symbols of some proteins that contain the domain – NAIP (NLR family apoptosis <a href="/wiki/Inhibitor_protein" title="Inhibitor protein">inhibitor protein</a>), C2TA (major histocompatibility complex class II transcription activator), HET-E (incompatibility locus protein from Podospora anserine), and TP1 (telomerase-associated protein) – but is not syntactically reducible to them. The name is thus itself more symbol than acronym, and its expansion cannot replace it while preserving its function in natural syntax as a <a href="/wiki/Name" title="Name">name</a> within a <a href="/wiki/Clause" title="Clause">clause</a> clearly <a href="/wiki/Parsing" title="Parsing">parsable</a> by human readers or listeners. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Recursive_acronyms">Recursive acronyms</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Recursive acronyms">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Recursive_acronym" title="Recursive acronym">Recursive acronym</a></div> A special type of macronym, the <a href="/wiki/Recursive_acronym" title="Recursive acronym">recursive acronym</a>, has letters whose expansion refers back to the macronym itself. One of the earliest examples appears in <a href="/wiki/The_Hacker%27s_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="The Hacker's Dictionary">The Hacker's Dictionary</a> as <a href="/wiki/Mung_(computer_term)" title="Mung (computer term)">MUNG</a>, which stands for "MUNG Until No Good". Some examples of recursive acronyms are: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/GNU" title="GNU">GNU</a> stands for "GNU's Not Unix!"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/LAME" title="LAME">LAME</a> stands for "LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/PHP" title="PHP">PHP</a> stands for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wine_(software)" title="Wine (software)">WINE</a> stands for "WINE Is Not an Emulator"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/GNU_Hurd" title="GNU Hurd">HURD</a> stands for "HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons", where HIRD itself stands for "HURD of interfaces representing depth" (a "mutually recursive" acronym)</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Non-English_languages">Non-English languages</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Non-English languages">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Specific_languages">Specific languages</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Specific languages">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Chinese">Chinese</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Chinese">edit</a>]</div> With English terminology, discussions of languages with <a href="/wiki/Syllabary" title="Syllabary">syllabic</a> or <a href="/wiki/Logographic" class="mw-redirect" title="Logographic">logographic</a> writing systems (such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), "acronyms" describe the short forms that take selected characters from a multi-character word. For example, in Chinese, 'university' (大學/大学, <abbr style="font-size:85%" title="literal translation">lit.</abbr> 'great learning') is usually abbreviated simply as 大 ('great') when used with the name of the institute. So '<a href="/wiki/Peking_University" title="Peking University">Peking University</a>' (北京大学) is commonly shortened to 北大 (<abbr title="literally">lit.</abbr> 'north-great') by also only taking the first character of Peking, the "northern capital" (北京; Beijing). In some cases, however, other characters than the first can be selected. For example, the local short form of '<a href="/wiki/Hong_Kong_University" class="mw-redirect" title="Hong Kong University">Hong Kong University</a>' (香港大學) uses Kong (港大) rather than Hong. There are also cases where some longer phrases are abbreviated drastically, especially in Chinese politics, where proper nouns were initially translated from Soviet Leninist terms. For instance, the full name of China's highest ruling council, the <a href="/wiki/Politburo_Standing_Committee" class="mw-redirect" title="Politburo Standing Committee">Politburo Standing Committee</a> (PSC), is 'Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China' (中国共产党中央政治局常务委员会). The term then reduced the 'Communist Party of China' part of its name through acronyms, then the 'Standing Committee' part, again through acronyms, to create 中共中央政治局常委. Alternatively, it omitted the 'Communist Party' part altogether, creating 'Politburo Standing Committee' (政治局常委会), and eventually just 'Standing Committee' (常委会). The PSC's members full designations are 'Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China' (中国共产党中央政治局常务委员会委员); this was eventually drastically reduced to simply Changwei (常委), with the term Ruchang (入常) used increasingly for officials destined for a future seat on the PSC. In another example, the word 全国人民代表大会 ('<a href="/wiki/National_People%27s_Congress" title="National People's Congress">National People's Congress</a>') can be broken into four parts: 全国 = 'the whole nation', 人民 = 'people', 代表 = 'representatives', 大会 = 'conference'. Yet, in its short form 人大 (literally 'man/people big'), only the first characters from the second and the fourth parts are selected; the first part (全国) and the third part (代表) are completely dropped. Many proper nouns become shorter and shorter over time. For example, the <a href="/wiki/CCTV_New_Year%27s_Gala" class="mw-redirect" title="CCTV New Year's Gala">CCTV New Year's Gala</a>, whose full name is literally read as 'China Central Television Spring Festival Joint Celebration Evening Gala' (中国中央电视台春节联欢晚会) was first shortened to 'Spring Festival Joint Celebration Evening Gala' (春节联欢晚会), but eventually referred to as simply Chunwan (春晚). In the same vein, CCTV or Zhongguo Zhongyang Dianshi Tai (中国中央电视台) was reduced to Yangshi (央视) in the mid-2000s. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Korean">Korean</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Korean">edit</a>]</div> Many aspects of academics in Korea follow similar acronym patterns as Chinese, owing to the two languages' commonalities, like using the word for 'big' or 'great' i.e. dae (대), to refer to universities (대학; daehak, literally 'great learning' although 'big school' is an acceptable alternate). They can be interpreted similarly to American university appellations, such as "UPenn" or "Texas Tech". Some acronyms are shortened forms of the school's name, like how <a href="/wiki/Hongik_University" title="Hongik University">Hongik University</a> (홍익대학교, Hongik Daehakgyo) is shortened to Hongdae (홍대, 'Hong, the big [school]' or 'Hong-U') Other acronyms can refer to the university's main subject, e.g. <a href="/wiki/Korea_National_University_of_Education" title="Korea National University of Education">Korea National University of Education</a> (한국교원대학교, Hanguk Gyowon Daehakgyo) is shortened to Gyowondae (교원대, 'Big Ed.' or 'Ed.-U'). Other schools use a Koreanized version of their English acronym. The <a href="/wiki/KAIST" title="KAIST">Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology</a> (한국과학기술원, Hanguk Gwahak Gisulwon) is referred to as KAIST (카이스트, Kaiseuteu) in both English and Korean. The 3 most prestigious schools in Korea are known as SKY (스카이, seukai), combining the first letter of their English names (Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei Universities). In addition, the College Scholastic Ability Test (대학수학능력시험, Daehak Suhang Neungryeok Siheom) is shortened to Suneung (수능, 'S.A.'). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Japanese">Japanese</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: Japanese">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Japanese_abbreviated_and_contracted_words" title="Japanese abbreviated and contracted words">Japanese abbreviated and contracted words</a></div> The <a href="/wiki/Japanese_language" title="Japanese language">Japanese language</a> makes extensive use of abbreviations, but only some of these are acronyms. Chinese-based words (<a href="/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabulary" title="Sino-Japanese vocabulary">Sino-Japanese vocabulary</a>) uses similar acronym formation to Chinese, like Tōdai (東大) for Tōkyō Daigaku (東京大学, Tokyo University). In some cases alternative pronunciations are used, as in <a href="/wiki/Saiky%C5%8D_Line" title="Saikyō Line">Saikyō</a> for 埼京, from <a href="/wiki/Saitama,_Saitama" class="mw-redirect" title="Saitama, Saitama">Saitama</a> + <a href="/wiki/Tokyo" title="Tokyo">Tōkyō</a> (埼玉＋東京), rather than Saitō. Non-Chinese foreign borrowings (<a href="/wiki/Gairaigo" class="mw-redirect" title="Gairaigo">gairaigo</a>) are instead frequently abbreviated as <a href="/wiki/Clipped_compound" title="Clipped compound">clipped compounds</a>, rather than acronyms, using several initial sounds. This is visible in <a href="/wiki/Katakana" title="Katakana">katakana</a> transcriptions of foreign words, but is also found with native words (written in <a href="/wiki/Hiragana" title="Hiragana">hiragana</a>). For example, the <a href="/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon" title="Pokémon">Pokémon</a> media franchise's name originally stood for "pocket monsters" (ポケット·モンスター [po-ke-tto-mon-su-tā] → ポケモン), which is still the long-form of the name in Japanese, and "<a href="/wiki/W%C4%81puro" class="mw-redirect" title="Wāpuro">wāpuro</a>" stands for "<a href="/wiki/Word_processor" title="Word processor">word processor</a>" (ワード·プロセッサー [wā-do-pu-ro-se-ssā]→ ワープロ). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="German">German</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: German">edit</a>]</div> To a greater degree than English does, German tends toward acronyms that use initial syllables rather than initial single letters, although it uses many of the latter type as well. Some examples of the syllabic type are <a href="/wiki/Gestapo" title="Gestapo">Gestapo</a> rather than GSP (for Geheime Staatspolizei, 'Secret State Police'); Flak rather than FAK (for Fliegerabwehrkanone, '<a href="/wiki/Anti-aircraft_warfare" title="Anti-aircraft warfare">anti-aircraft</a> gun'); Kripo rather than KP (for <a href="/wiki/Kriminalpolizei" title="Kriminalpolizei">Kriminalpolizei</a>, 'detective division police'). The extension of such contraction to a pervasive or whimsical degree has been mockingly labeled <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/de:Ak%C3%BCfi" class="extiw" title="wikt:de:Aküfi">Aküfi</a> (for Abkürzungsfimmel, 'strange habit of abbreviating'). Examples of Aküfi include Vokuhila (for vorne kurz, hinten lang, 'short in the front, long in the back', i.e., a <a href="/wiki/Mullet_(haircut)" title="Mullet (haircut)">mullet</a> haircut) and the mocking of <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>'s title as <a href="/wiki/Gr%C3%B6faz" class="mw-redirect" title="Gröfaz">Gröfaz</a> (Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten, 'Greatest General of all Time'). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Hebrew">Hebrew</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: Hebrew">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Hebrew_acronyms" class="mw-redirect" title="Hebrew acronyms">Hebrew acronyms</a></div> It is common to take more than just one initial letter from each of the words composing the acronym; regardless of this, the abbreviation sign <a href="/wiki/Gershayim" title="Gershayim">gershayim</a> ⟨״⟩ is always written between the second-last and last letters of the non-inflected form of the acronym, even if by this it separates letters of the same original word. Examples (keep in mind Hebrew reads right-to-left): ארה״ב (for ארצות הברית, the United States); ברה״מ (for ברית המועצות, the Soviet Union); ראשל״צ (for ראשון לציון, <a href="/wiki/Rishon_LeZion" title="Rishon LeZion">Rishon LeZion</a>); ביה״ס (for בית הספר, the school). An example that takes only the initial letters from its component words is צה״ל (Tzahal, for צבא הגנה לישראל, <a href="/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces" title="Israel Defense Forces">Israel Defense Forces</a>). In inflected forms, the abbreviation sign <a href="/wiki/Gershayim" title="Gershayim">gershayim</a> remains between the second-last and last letters of the non-inflected form of the acronym (e.g. 'report', singular: דו״ח, plural: דו״חות; 'squad commander', masculine: מ״כ, feminine: מ״כית). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Indonesian">Indonesian</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: Indonesian">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/List_of_Indonesian_acronyms_and_abbreviations" title="List of Indonesian acronyms and abbreviations">List of Indonesian acronyms and abbreviations</a></div> There is also a widespread use of acronyms in <a href="/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> in every aspect of social life. For example, the <a href="/wiki/Golkar" title="Golkar">Golkar</a> political party stands for Partai Golongan Karya, <a href="/wiki/Monas" class="mw-redirect" title="Monas">Monas</a> stands for Monumen Nasional ('National Monument'), the Angkot public transport stands for Angkutan Kota (<a href="/wiki/Share_taxi#Indonesia" title="Share taxi">'city public transportation'</a>), warnet stands for warung internet ('<a href="/wiki/Internet_cafe" class="mw-redirect" title="Internet cafe">internet cafe</a>'), and many others. Some acronyms are considered formal (or officially adopted), while many more are considered informal, <a href="/wiki/Slang" title="Slang">slang</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Colloquial" class="mw-redirect" title="Colloquial">colloquial</a>. The capital's metropolitan area (<a href="/wiki/Jakarta" title="Jakarta">Jakarta</a> and its surrounding <a href="/wiki/Satellite_city" title="Satellite city">satellite regions</a>), <a href="/wiki/Jabodetabek" class="mw-redirect" title="Jabodetabek">Jabodetabek</a>, is another acronym. This stands for Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi. Many highways are also named by the acronym method; e.g. Jalan Tol ('Toll Road') Jagorawi (Jakarta-Bogor-Ciawi), Purbaleunyi (Purwakarta-Bandung-Cileunyi), and Joglo Semar (Jogja-Solo-Semarang). In some languages, especially those that use certain <a href="/wiki/Alphabets" class="mw-redirect" title="Alphabets">alphabets</a>, many acronyms come from the governmental use, particularly in the military and law enforcement services. The <a href="/wiki/Indonesian_military" class="mw-redirect" title="Indonesian military">Indonesian military</a> (TNI – Tentara Nasional Indonesia) and <a href="/wiki/Indonesian_police" class="mw-redirect" title="Indonesian police">Indonesian police</a> (POLRI – Kepolisian Republik Indonesia) are known for heavy acronyms use. Examples include the <a href="/wiki/Kopassus" title="Kopassus">Kopassus</a> (Komando Pasukan Khusus; '<a href="/wiki/Special_Forces" class="mw-redirect" title="Special Forces">Special Forces</a> Command'), <a href="/wiki/Kopaska" class="mw-redirect" title="Kopaska">Kopaska</a> (Komando Pasukan Katak; '<a href="/wiki/Frogmen" class="mw-redirect" title="Frogmen">Frogmen</a> Command'), Kodim (Komando Distrik Militer; 'Military District Command' – one of the Indonesian army's <a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions" class="mw-redirect" title="Administrative divisions">administrative divisions</a>), Serka (Sersan Kepala; 'Head <a href="/wiki/Sergeant" title="Sergeant">Sergeant</a>'), Akmil (Akademi Militer; 'Military Academy' – in <a href="/wiki/Magelang" title="Magelang">Magelang</a>), and many other terms regarding <a href="/wiki/Military_ranks" class="mw-redirect" title="Military ranks">ranks</a>, units, divisions, procedures, etc. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Malay">Malay</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=41" title="Edit section: Malay">edit</a>]</div> Although not as common as in Indonesian, a number of Malay words are formed by merging two words, such as tadika from taman didikan kanak-kanak ('kindergarten') and pawagam from panggung wayang gambar. This, however, has been less prevalent in the modern era, in contrary to Indonesian. It is still often for names such as organisation names, among the most famous being MARA from <a href="/wiki/Majlis_Amanah_Rakyat" title="Majlis Amanah Rakyat">Majlis Amanah Rakyat</a> ('People's Trust Council'), a government agency in Malaysia. Some acronyms are developed from the <a href="/wiki/Jawi_alphabet" class="mw-redirect" title="Jawi alphabet">Jawi</a> (Malay in Arabic script) spelling of the name and may not reflect its Latin counterpart such as PAS from <a href="/wiki/Malaysian_Islamic_Party" title="Malaysian Islamic Party">Parti Islam Se-Malaysia</a> ('Malaysian Islamic Party') which originated from the Jawi acronym ڤاس from ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, with the same pronunciation, since the first letter of the word 'Islam' in Jawi uses the letter <a href="/wiki/Aleph" title="Aleph">Aleph</a>, which is pronounced like the letter A when in such position as in the acronym. Rules in writing initialisms in Malay differ based on its script. In its Latin form, the initialism would be spelt much like in English, using capitals written without any spacing, such as TNB for <a href="/wiki/Tenaga_Nasional" title="Tenaga Nasional">Tenaga Nasional</a> Berhad. In Jawi, however, the way initialisms are different depending on the source language. For Malay initialisms, the initial Jawi letters would be written separated by a period such as د.ب.ڤ for <a href="/wiki/Dewan_Bahasa_dan_Pustaka" title="Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka">ديوان بهاس دان ڤوستاک</a>.<a href="#cite_note-91">[90]</a> If the initialism is from a different language, however, it would be written by transliterating each letter from the original language, such as عيم.سي.عيم.سي. for <a href="/wiki/Malaysian_Communications_and_Multimedia_Commission" title="Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission">MCMC</a>, or الفا.ڤي.ثيتا for <a href="/wiki/Aristotle_University_of_Thessaloniki" title="Aristotle University of Thessaloniki">Α.Π.Θ.</a><a href="#cite_note-92">[91]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Russian">Russian</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=42" title="Edit section: Russian">edit</a>]</div> Acronyms that use parts of words (not necessarily syllables) are commonplace in Russian as well, e.g. Газпром (<a href="/wiki/Gazprom" title="Gazprom">Gazprom</a>), for Газовая промышленность (Gazovaya promyshlennost, 'gas industry'). There are also initialisms, such as СМИ ('SMI', for средства массовой информации sredstva massovoy informatsii, 'means of mass informing'; ГУЛаг (<a href="/wiki/GULag" class="mw-redirect" title="GULag">GULag</a>) combines two initials and three letters of the final word: it stands for Главное управление лагерей (Glavnoe upravlenie lagerey, 'Chief Administration of Camps'). Historically, <a href="/wiki/OTMA" title="OTMA">OTMA</a> was an acronym sometimes used by the daughters of <a href="/wiki/Emperor" title="Emperor">Emperor</a> <a href="/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia" class="mw-redirect" title="Nicholas II of Russia">Nicholas II of Russia</a> and his consort, <a href="/wiki/Alexandra_Feodorovna_(Alix_of_Hesse)" title="Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)">Alexandra Feodorovna</a>, as a group nickname for themselves, built from the first letter of each girl's name in the order of their births: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Swahili">Swahili</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=43" title="Edit section: Swahili">edit</a>]</div> In <a href="/wiki/Swahili_language" title="Swahili language">Swahili</a>, acronyms are common for naming organizations such as TUKI, which stands for Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili ('Institute for Swahili Research'). Multiple initial letters (often the initial syllable of words) are often drawn together, as seen more in some languages than others. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Vietnamese">Vietnamese</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=44" title="Edit section: Vietnamese">edit</a>]</div> In <a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_language" title="Vietnamese language">Vietnamese</a>, which has an abundance of compound words, initialisms are very commonly used for both proper and common nouns. Examples include TP.HCM (Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, '<a href="/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City" title="Ho Chi Minh City">Ho Chi Minh City</a>'), THPT (trung học phổ thông, 'high school'), CLB (câu lạc bộ, 'club'), CSDL (cơ sở dữ liệu, 'database'), NXB (nhà xuất bản, 'publisher'), ÔBACE (ông bà anh chị em, a general form of address), and CTTĐVN (các Thánh tử đạo Việt Nam, '<a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_Martyrs" title="Vietnamese Martyrs">Vietnamese Martyrs</a>'). Longer examples include CHXHCNVN (Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, 'Socialist Republic of Vietnam') and MTDTGPMNVN (Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam, '<a href="/wiki/Viet_Cong" title="Viet Cong">Liberation Army of South Vietnam or the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam</a>'). Long initialisms have become widespread in legal contexts in <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a>, for example TTLT-VKSNDTC-TANDTC.<a href="#cite_note-93">[92]</a> It is also common for a writer to coin an ad hoc initialism for repeated use in an article. Each letter in an initialism corresponds to one <a href="/wiki/Morpheme" title="Morpheme">morpheme</a>, that is, one syllable. When the first letter of a syllable has a tone mark or other diacritic, the diacritic may be omitted from the initialism, for example ĐNA or ĐNÁ for Đông Nam Á ('<a href="/wiki/Southeast_Asia" title="Southeast Asia">Southeast Asia</a>') and LMCA or LMCÂ for Liên minh châu Âu ('<a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a>'). The letter <a href="/wiki/%C6%AF" title="Ư">Ư</a> is often replaced by W in initialisms to avoid confusion with U, for example UBTWMTTQVN or UBTƯMTTQVN for Ủy ban Trung ương Mặt trận Tổ quốc Việt Nam ('Central Committee of the <a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_Fatherland_Front" title="Vietnamese Fatherland Front">Vietnamese Fatherland Front</a>'). Initialisms are purely a written convenience, being pronounced the same way as their expansions. As the <a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_alphabet#Letter_names_and_pronunciation" title="Vietnamese alphabet">names of many Vietnamese letters</a> are disyllabic, it would be less convenient to pronounce an initialism by its individual letters. Acronyms pronounced as words are rare in Vietnamese, occurring when an acronym itself is borrowed from another language. Examples include SIĐA (<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1177148991">.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}</style>pronounced <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Vietnamese" title="Help:IPA/Vietnamese">[s̪i˧ ˀɗaː˧]</a>), a respelling of the French acronym SIDA ('<a href="/wiki/AIDS" class="mw-redirect" title="AIDS">AIDS</a>'); VOA (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1177148991">pronounced <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Vietnamese" title="Help:IPA/Vietnamese">[vwaː˧]</a>), a literal reading of the English initialism for '<a href="/wiki/Voice_of_America" title="Voice of America">Voice of America</a>'; and <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a> (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1177148991">pronounced <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Vietnamese" title="Help:IPA/Vietnamese">[naː˧ zaː˧]</a>), borrowed directly from the English acronym. As in <a href="#Chinese">Chinese</a>, many compound words can be shortened to the first syllable when forming a longer word. For example, the term <a href="/wiki/Viet_Cong" title="Viet Cong">Việt Cộng</a> is derived from the first syllables of Việt Nam ('Vietnam') and Cộng sản ('communist'). This mechanism is limited to <a href="/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_vocabulary" title="Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary">Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary</a>. Unlike with Chinese, such <a href="/wiki/Clipped_compound" title="Clipped compound">clipped compounds</a> are considered to be <a href="/wiki/Portmanteau" class="mw-redirect" title="Portmanteau">portmanteau</a> words or <a href="/wiki/Blend_word" title="Blend word">blend words</a> rather than acronyms or initialisms, because the <a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_alphabet" title="Vietnamese alphabet">Vietnamese alphabet</a> still requires each component word to be written as more than one character. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="General_grammatical_considerations">General grammatical considerations</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=45" title="Edit section: General grammatical considerations">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Declension">Declension</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=46" title="Edit section: Declension">edit</a>]</div> In languages where nouns are <a href="/wiki/Declension" title="Declension">declined</a>, various methods are used. An example is <a href="/wiki/Finnish_language" title="Finnish language">Finnish</a>, where a colon is used to separate inflection from the letters: <ul><li>An acronym is pronounced as a word: <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> or Nato <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Finnish" title="Help:IPA/Finnish">[ˈnɑto]</a> – Natoon [ˈnɑtoːn] 'into Nato'; another example is Nasalta 'from <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>'</li> <li>An acronym is pronounced as letters: EU [ˈeːˌʔuː] – EU:hun [ˈeːˌʔuːhun] 'into [the] EU'</li> <li>An acronym is interpreted as words: EU [euroːpan unioni] – EU:iin [ˈeu̯roːpɑnˌunioniːn] 'into [the] EU'</li></ul> The process above is similar to the way that hyphens are used for clarity in English when prefixes are added to acronyms: thus pre-NATO policy (rather than preNATO). <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Lenition">Lenition</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=47" title="Edit section: Lenition">edit</a>]</div> In languages such as <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic" title="Scottish Gaelic">Scottish Gaelic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Irish_language" title="Irish language">Irish</a>, where <a href="/wiki/Lenition" title="Lenition">lenition</a> (initial consonant mutation) is commonplace, acronyms must also be modified in situations where case and context dictate it. In the case of Scottish Gaelic, a lower-case h is often added after the initial consonant; for example, '<a href="/wiki/BBC_Scotland" title="BBC Scotland">BBC Scotland</a>' in the genitive case would be written as BhBC Alba, with the acronym pronounced VBC. Likewise, the Gaelic acronym for telebhisean 'television' is TBh, pronounced TV, as in English. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=48" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a>]</div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Acrostic" title="Acrostic">Acrostic</a> – Text formed from parts of another text</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amalgamation_(names)" title="Amalgamation (names)">Amalgamation (names)</a> – Name formed by combining several previously existing names</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Initialized_sign" title="Initialized sign">Initialized sign</a> – Handshape sign for finger spelling in the sign language</li> <li><a href="/wiki/One-letter_word" title="One-letter word">One-letter word</a> – A single-letter word</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Syllabic_abbreviation" class="mw-redirect" title="Syllabic abbreviation">Syllabic abbreviation</a> – Shortened form of a word or phrasePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Explanatory_notes">Explanatory notes</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=49" title="Edit section: Explanatory notes">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-77"><a href="#cite_ref-77">^</a> This change was also applied to other languages, with Poulet Frit Kentucky becoming PFK in French Canada. </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=50" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 40em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Brinton_Page_110-1"><a href="#cite_ref-Brinton_Page_110_1-0">^</a> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFBrintonBrinton2010" class="citation book cs1">Brinton, Laurel J.; Brinton, Donna M. (2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1EeND5SyUuwC&pg=PA110">The Linguistic Structure of Modern English</a>. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 110. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-272-8824-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-90-272-8824-0"><bdi>978-90-272-8824-0</bdi></a>. Retrieved April 3, 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Linguistic+Structure+of+Modern+English&rft.place=Amsterdam&rft.pages=110&rft.pub=John+Benjamins+Publishing+Company&rft.date=2010&rft.isbn=978-90-272-8824-0&rft.aulast=Brinton&rft.aufirst=Laurel+J.&rft.au=Brinton%2C+Donna+M.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D1EeND5SyUuwC%26pg%3DPA110&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcMahon2023" class="citation web cs1">McMahon, Mary (December 30, 2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-the-difference-between-an-acronym-alphabetism-and-initialism.htm">"What is the Difference Between an Acronym, Alphabetism, and Initialism?"</a>. LanguageHumanities. Retrieved February 9, 2024.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=LanguageHumanities&rft.atitle=What+is+the+Difference+Between+an+Acronym%2C+Alphabetism%2C+and+Initialism%3F&rft.date=2023-12-30&rft.aulast=McMahon&rft.aufirst=Mary&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.languagehumanities.org%2Fwhat-is-the-difference-between-an-acronym-alphabetism-and-initialism.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://proofed.com/writing-tips/acronyms-vs-initialisms-whats-the-difference/">"Acronyms vs. Initialisms: What's the Difference?"</a>. Proofed. April 3, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2024.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Proofed&rft.atitle=Acronyms+vs.+Initialisms%3A+What%27s+the+Difference%3F&rft.date=2022-04-03&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fproofed.com%2Fwriting-tips%2Facronyms-vs-initialisms-whats-the-difference%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-OED-4">^ <a href="#cite_ref-OED_4-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-OED_4-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-OED_4-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-OED_4-3">d</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/1844">"acronym, n."</a> Oxford English Dictionary (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. December 2011. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20200122222116/https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/1844">Archived</a> from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Oxford+English+Dictionary&rft.atitle=acronym%2C+n.&rft.date=2011-12&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oed.com%2Fview%2FEntry%2F1844&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote">acronym, n. Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈakrənɪm/, U.S. /ˈækrəˌnɪm/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding; modelled on a German lexical item. Etymons: <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">acro- comb. form, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">-onym comb. form. Etymology: < <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">acro- comb. form + <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">-onym comb. form, after German Akronym (1921 or earlier). Originally U.S. 1. A group of initial letters used as an abbreviation for a name or expression, each letter or part being pronounced separately; an initialism (such as ATM, TLS). In the O.E.D. the term initialism is used for this phenomenon. (See sense 2 for O.E.D. use of the word.) <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist" style="margin-left: 1.6em;"> <ul><li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1940 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">W. Muir & E. Muir tr. L. Feuchtwanger Paris Gaz. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">iii. xlvii. 518     Pee-gee-enn. It's an acronym [Ger. Akronym], that's what it is. That's what they call words made up of initials.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1947 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">T. M. Pearce in Word Study May 8/2     The acronym DDT..trips pleasantly on the tongue and is already a household byword.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1959 Rotarian May 43/1     DDD, an acronym that sounds more like a cattle brand.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1975 Jet 24 July 9/1     The puns on the acronym, 'CIA', were spawned by recent disclosures about the intelligence agency.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1985 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">C. Jencks Mod. Movements in Archit. (ed. 2) i. 75     Called by the acronym SCSD (Schools Construction System Development).</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">2008 Atlantic Monthly June 104/2     The acronym TSS—Tout Sauf Sarkozy ('Anything But Sarkozy').</div></li></ul> </div> 2. A word formed from the initial letters of other words or (occasionally) from the initial parts of syllables taken from other words, the whole being pronounced as a single word (such as NATO, RADA). <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist" style="margin-left: 1.6em;"> <ul><li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1943 Amer. Notes & Queries Feb. 167/1     Words made up of the initial letters or syllables of other words..I have seen..called by the name acronym.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1947 Word Study 6(title)     Acronym Talk, or 'Tomorrow's English'.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1950 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">S. Potter Our Lang. 163     Acronyms or telescoped names like nabisco from National Biscuit Company.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1959 Times 1 Sept. 22/3     New words which are constructed out of initial letters are called, I understand, acronyms.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1961 Electronics 21 Apr. 51/2     Colidar, an acronym from coherent light detecting and ranging.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">1976 <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">P. R. Hutt in IBA Techn. Rev. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">ix. 4/2     The author hit on the idea of the name 'oracle'..and it was not long before it was made into an acronym for 'Optional Reception of Announcements by Coded Line Electronics'.</div></li> <li><div style="text-indent: -1.6em; margin-left: 1.6em;">2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 16 Apr. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">a2/2     Turning tea into an acronym for Taxed Enough Already, demonstrators were expected to attend more than 750 rallies to protest government spending.</div></li></ul></div></blockquote></li> <li id="cite_note-Merriam-Webster_note-5"><a href="#cite_ref-Merriam-Webster_note_5-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/acronym">"Acronym"</a>. The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Inc. January 22, 2020. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20200122212129/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acronym">Archived</a> from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>Some people feel strongly that acronym should only be used for terms like NATO, which is pronounced as a single word, and that initialism should be used if the individual letters are all pronounced distinctly, as with FBI. Our research shows that acronym is commonly used to refer to both types of abbreviations.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Merriam-Webster.com+Dictionary&rft.atitle=Acronym.&rft.date=2020-01-22&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.m-w.com%2Fdictionary%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wiktionary-6"><a href="#cite_ref-Wiktionary_6-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acronym#Usage_notes">"acronym"</a>. en.wiktionary.org. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200117042335/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acronym#Usage_notes">Archived</a> from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=en.wiktionary.org&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wiktionary.org%2Fwiki%2Facronym%23Usage_notes&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Brockhaus_Handbuch-7"><a href="#cite_ref-Brockhaus_Handbuch_7-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation encyclopaedia cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=O9tFuwEACAAJ&pg=PA37">"Akronym"</a>. Brockhaus Handbuch des Wissens in vier Bänden (in German). Vol. 1. Leipzig: <a href="/wiki/F._A._Brockhaus_AG" title="F. A. Brockhaus AG">F. A. Brockhaus AG</a>. 1921. p. 37. Retrieved February 22, 2020 – via Google Books. <q>Agfa (Aktien-Gesellschaft für Anilinfabrikation)</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Akronym&rft.btitle=Brockhaus+Handbuch+des+Wissens+in+vier+B%C3%A4nden&rft.place=Leipzig&rft.pages=37&rft.pub=F.+A.+Brockhaus+AG&rft.date=1921&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DO9tFuwEACAAJ%26pg%3DPA37&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Paris_Gazette-8"><a href="#cite_ref-Paris_Gazette_8-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFeuchtwanger1940" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a href="/wiki/Lion_Feuchtwanger" title="Lion Feuchtwanger">Feuchtwanger, Lion</a> (1940). "Chapter 47: Beasts of Prey". Paris Gazette (in German). Translated by <a href="/wiki/Willa_Muir" title="Willa Muir">Muir, Willa</a>; <a href="/wiki/Edwin_Muir" title="Edwin Muir">Muir, Edwin</a>. New York: Viking Press. pp. 665–66. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-135-37010-9" title="Special:BookSources/1-135-37010-9"><bdi>1-135-37010-9</bdi></a>. <q>His first glance at the Paris German News told Wiesener that this new paper was nothing like the old P.G.. 'They can call it the P.G.N. if they like', he thought, 'but that's the only difference. Pee-gee-enn; what's the word for words like that, made out of initials? My memory is beginning to fail me. Just the other day there was a technical expression I couldn't remember. I must be growing old. P.G. or P.G.N., it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. ... Pee-gee-enn. It's an acronym, that's what it is. That's what they call words made up of initials. So I remember it after all; that's at least something.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+47%3A+Beasts+of+Prey&rft.btitle=Paris+Gazette&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=665-66&rft.pub=Viking+Press&rft.date=1940&rft.isbn=1-135-37010-9&rft.aulast=Feuchtwanger&rft.aufirst=Lion&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Merriam-Webster-9"><a href="#cite_ref-Merriam-Webster_9-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20200122212129/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acronym">"Acronym"</a>. The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Inc. January 22, 2020. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/acronym">the original</a> on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Merriam-Webster.com+Dictionary&rft.atitle=Acronym.&rft.date=2020-01-22&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.m-w.com%2Fdictionary%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote">acronym noun ac·ro·nym | \ˈa-krə-ˌnim\ Definition of acronym : a word (such as NATO, radar, or laser) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term also : an abbreviation (such as FBI) formed from initial letters : <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">initialism</blockquote> </li> <li id="cite_note-Dictionary.com-10"><a href="#cite_ref-Dictionary.com_10-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/acronym?s=t">"Acronym"</a>. Dictionary.com. January 22, 2020. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20200122212526/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/acronym?s=t">Archived</a> from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>2. a set of initials representing a name, organization, or the like, with each letter pronounced separately; an initialism.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Dictionary.com&rft.atitle=Acronym.&rft.date=2020-01-22&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dictionary.com%2Fbrowse%2Facronym%3Fs%3Dt&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-AHD5-11">^ <a href="#cite_ref-AHD5_11-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-AHD5_11-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-AHD5_11-2">c</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=acronym">"Acronym"</a>. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Fifth ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. November 2011. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20200122220158/https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=acronym">Archived</a> from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language&rft.atitle=Acronym.&rft.date=2011-11&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fahdictionary.com%2Fword%2Fsearch.html%3Fq%3Dacronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote">ac·ro·nym (ăk′rə-nĭm′) n. 1. A word formed by combining the initial letters of a multipart name, such as NATO from North Atlantic Treaty Organization or by combining the initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar from radio detecting and ranging. 2. Usage Problem An initialism. [<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">acr(o)- + -onym.] ac′ro·nym′ic, a·cron′y·mous (ə-krŏn′ə-məs) adj. Usage Note: In strict usage, the term acronym refers to a word made from the initial letters or parts of other words, such as sonar from so(und) na(vigation and) r(anging). The distinguishing feature of an acronym is that it is pronounced as if it were a single word, in the manner of NATO and NASA. Acronyms are often distinguished from initialisms like FBI and NIH, whose individual letters are pronounced as separate syllables. While observing this distinction has some virtue in precision, it may be lost on many people, for whom the term acronym refers to both kinds of abbreviations.</blockquote> </li> <li id="cite_note-Macquarie-12"><a href="#cite_ref-Macquarie_12-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/acronym/">"acronym"</a>. Macquarie Dictionary. Macmillan Publishers Australia. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20200303014940/https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/acronym/">Archived</a> from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Macquarie+Dictionary&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.macquariedictionary.com.au%2Ffeatures%2Fword%2Fsearch%2Facronym%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote">acronym /ˈækrənɪm/ ('say' 'akruhnim) noun 1. a word formed from the initial letters of a sequence of words, as radar (from radio detection and ranging) or ANZAC (from Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). Compare initialism. 2. an initialism. [<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">acro- + -(o)nym; modelled on <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">synonym]</blockquote> </li> <li id="cite_note-Collins-13"><a href="#cite_ref-Collins_13-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/acronym">"acronym"</a>. Collins COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200208100705/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/acronym">Archived</a> from the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>An acronym is a word composed of the first letters of the words in a phrase, especially when this is used as a name. An example of an acronym is 'NATO', which is made up of the first letters of the 'North Atlantic Treaty Organization'.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Collins+COBUILD+Advanced+English+Dictionary&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.collinsdictionary.com%2Fdictionary%2Fenglish%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Cambridge-14"><a href="#cite_ref-Cambridge_14-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/acronym">"acronym"</a>. Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus. Cambridge University Press. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200208100706/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/acronym">Archived</a> from the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>an abbreviation consisting of the first letters of each word in the name of something, pronounced as a word</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Cambridge+Advanced+Learner%27s+Dictionary+%26+Thesaurus&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.cambridge.org%2Fdictionary%2Fenglish%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Macmillan-15"><a href="#cite_ref-Macmillan_15-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/acronym">"acronym"</a>. Macmillan Dictionary. Macmillan Education Limited. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200405205208/https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/acronym">Archived</a> from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>an abbreviation consisting of letters that form a word. For example, NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Macmillan+Dictionary&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.macmillandictionary.com%2Fdictionary%2Fbritish%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Longman-16"><a href="#cite_ref-Longman_16-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/acronym">"acronym"</a>. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Pearson Longman. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200405215403/https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/acronym">Archived</a> from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>a word made up from the first letters of the name of something such as an organization. For example, NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Longman+Dictionary+of+Contemporary+English&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ldoceonline.com%2Fdictionary%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-NOAD-17"><a href="#cite_ref-NOAD_17-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/newoxfordamerica0000unse_l5h7/page/15/mode/2up">New Oxford American dictionary</a> (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2010. p. 15. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-539288-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-539288-3"><bdi>978-0-19-539288-3</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/614990378">614990378</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=New+Oxford+American+dictionary.&rft.place=Oxford&rft.pages=15&rft.edition=3rd&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2010&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F614990378&rft.isbn=978-0-19-539288-3&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fnewoxfordamerica0000unse_l5h7%2Fpage%2F15%2Fmode%2F2up&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote">ac·ro·nym /ˈakrəˌnim/ ▸ n. an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g. ASCII, NASA). —<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">origin 1940s: from Greek akron 'end, tip' + onoma 'name,' on the pattern of homonym.</blockquote> </li> <li id="cite_note-Websters-New-World-18"><a href="#cite_ref-Websters-New-World_18-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.yourdictionary.com/acronym">"acronym"</a>. Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2014. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200405210057/https://www.yourdictionary.com/acronym">Archived</a> from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>a word formed from the first (or first few) letters of a series of words, as radar, from radio detecting and ranging</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Webster%27s+New+World+College+Dictionary%2C+Fifth+Edition&rft.atitle=acronym&rft.date=2014&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yourdictionary.com%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Lexico-19"><a href="#cite_ref-Lexico_19-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191222132554/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/acronym">"acronym"</a>. Lexico. Oxford University Press. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/acronym">the original</a> on December 22, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020. <q>An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g. ASCII, NASA).</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Lexico&rft.atitle=acronym&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lexico.com%2Fen%2Fdefinition%2Facronym&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-MWDEU-20">^ <a href="#cite_ref-MWDEU_20-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-MWDEU_20-1">b</a> Merriam-Webster, Inc. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, 1994. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87779-132-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-87779-132-5">0-87779-132-5</a>. pp. 21–22: <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote">acronyms  A number of commentators (as Copperud 1970, Janis 1984, Howard 1984) believe that acronyms can be differentiated from other abbreviations in being pronounceable as words. Dictionaries, however, do not make this distinction because writers in general do not: <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote">"The powder metallurgy industry has officially adopted the acronym 'P/M Parts'"—Precision Metal Molding, January 1966. "Users of the term acronym make no distinction between those pronounced as words ... and those pronounced as a series of characters" —Jean Praninskas, Trade Name Creation, 1968. "It is not J.C.B.'s fault that its name, let alone its acronym, is not a household word among European scholars"—Times Literary Supp. 5 February 1970. "... the confusion in the Pentagon about abbreviations and acronyms—words formed from the first letters of other words"—Bernard Weinraub, N.Y. Times, 11 December 1978.</blockquote>Pyles & Algeo 1970 divide acronyms into "initialisms", which consists of initial letters pronounced with the letter names, and "word acronyms", which are pronounced as words. Initialism, an older word than acronym, seems to be too little known to the general public to serve as the customary term standing in contrast with acronym in a narrow sense.</blockquote> </li> <li id="cite_note-MW10-21"><a href="#cite_ref-MW10_21-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster%27s_Collegiate_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary">Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary</a> (10th ed.). Springfield, Massachusetts: <a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster" title="Merriam-Webster">Merriam-Webster</a>. 1993. p. 11. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87779-708-0" title="Special:BookSources/0-87779-708-0"><bdi>0-87779-708-0</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/27432416">27432416</a>. <q>ac·ro·nym ˈa-krə-ˌnim n [acr- + -onym] (1943) : a word (as NATO, radar, or snafu) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term— ac·ro·nym·ic ˌa-krə-ˈni-mik adj — ac·ro·nym·i·c·al·ly -mi-k(ə-)lē adv</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Merriam-Webster%27s+Collegiate+Dictionary&rft.place=Springfield%2C+Massachusetts&rft.pages=11&rft.edition=10th&rft.pub=Merriam-Webster&rft.date=1993&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F27432416&rft.isbn=0-87779-708-0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-MW11-22"><a href="#cite_ref-MW11_22-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster%27s_Collegiate_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary">Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary</a> (11th ed.). Springfield, Massachusetts: <a href="/wiki/Merriam-Webster" title="Merriam-Webster">Merriam-Webster</a>. 2003. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/merriamwebsters00spri/page/12">12</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87779-809-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-87779-809-5"><bdi>0-87779-809-5</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/51764057">51764057</a> – via Internet Archive. <q>ac·ro·nym ˈa-krə-ˌnim n [acr- + -onym] (1943) : a word (such as NATO, radar, or laser) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term; also : an abbreviation (such as FBI) formed from initial letters : <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">initialism— ac·ro·nym·ic ˌa-krə-ˈni-mik adj — ac·ro·nym·i·c·al·ly -mi-k(ə-)lē adv</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Merriam-Webster%27s+Collegiate+Dictionary&rft.place=Springfield%2C+Massachusetts&rft.pages=12&rft.edition=11th&rft.pub=Merriam-Webster&rft.date=2003&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F51764057&rft.isbn=0-87779-809-5&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-OED1989-23">^ <a href="#cite_ref-OED1989_23-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-OED1989_23-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oed.com/oed2/00002102">"acronym"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">Oxford English Dictionary</a> (3rd ed.). 1989. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190325224324/http://www.oed.com/oed2/00002102">Archived</a> from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020. <q>A word formed from the initial letters of other words.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Oxford+English+Dictionary&rft.atitle=acronym&rft.date=1989&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oed.com%2Foed2%2F00002102&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-AHD4-24"><a href="#cite_ref-AHD4_24-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"acronym". <a href="/wiki/The_American_Heritage_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language" title="The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language">The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</a> (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2000. p. 16. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-395-82517-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-395-82517-2"><bdi>0-395-82517-2</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/43499541">43499541</a>. <q>ac·ro·nym (ăk′rə-nĭm′) n. A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for Women's Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging. [<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791">acr(o)- + -onym.]—ac′ro·nym′ic, a·cron′y·mous (ə-krŏn′ə-məs) adj.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=acronym&rft.btitle=The+American+Heritage+Dictionary+of+the+English+Language&rft.place=Boston&rft.pages=16&rft.edition=4th&rft.pub=Houghton+Mifflin&rft.date=2000&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F43499541&rft.isbn=0-395-82517-2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGoranson2010" class="citation web cs1">Goranson, Stephen (December 5, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-December/105190.html">"acronym antedated to 1940"</a>. American Dialect Society E-Mail Discussion List Archive. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200405220548/http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-December/105190.html">Archived</a> from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=American+Dialect+Society+E-Mail+Discussion+List+Archive&rft.atitle=acronym+antedated+to+1940&rft.date=2010-12-05&rft.aulast=Goranson&rft.aufirst=Stephen&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Flistserv.linguistlist.org%2Fpipermail%2Fads-l%2F2010-December%2F105190.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFZimmer2010" class="citation news cs1">Zimmer, Ben (December 16, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19FOB-onlanguage-t.html">"On Language: Acronym"</a>. <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Magazine" title="The New York Times Magazine">The New York Times Magazine</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200405220123/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19FOB-onlanguage-t.html">Archived</a> from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times+Magazine&rft.atitle=On+Language%3A+Acronym&rft.date=2010-12-16&rft.aulast=Zimmer&rft.aufirst=Ben&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F19%2Fmagazine%2F19FOB-onlanguage-t.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200327185842/https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/glossary/#sense">"OED terminology"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" title="Oxford English Dictionary">Oxford English Dictionary</a> (3rd ed.). Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/glossary/#sense">the original</a> on March 27, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Oxford+English+Dictionary&rft.atitle=OED+terminology&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.oed.com%2Fhow-to-use-the-oed%2Fglossary%2F%23sense&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Fowler2015-28"><a href="#cite_ref-Fowler2015_28-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFowler2015" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/H._W._Fowler" title="H. W. Fowler">Fowler, Henry Watson</a> (June 1, 2015). Jeremy Butterfield (ed.). <a href="/wiki/Fowler%27s_Dictionary_of_Modern_English_Usage" class="mw-redirect" title="Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage">Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage</a> (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=AvmzBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA16">16</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-966135-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-966135-0"><bdi>978-0-19-966135-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Fowler%27s+Dictionary+of+Modern+English+Usage&rft.pages=16&rft.edition=4th&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2015-06-01&rft.isbn=978-0-19-966135-0&rft.aulast=Fowler&rft.aufirst=Henry+Watson&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-CMOS16-29"><a href="#cite_ref-CMOS16_29-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/chicagomanualofs16edunse_2010">"10.2 Acronyms, initialisms, contractions"</a>. The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.). University of Chicago Press. 2010. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-226-10420-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-226-10420-1"><bdi>978-0-226-10420-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=10.2+Acronyms%2C+initialisms%2C+contractions&rft.btitle=The+Chicago+Manual+of+Style&rft.edition=16th&rft.pub=University+of+Chicago+Press&rft.date=2010&rft.isbn=978-0-226-10420-1&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fchicagomanualofs16edunse_2010&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bryson2002-30"><a href="#cite_ref-Bryson2002_30-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBryson2002" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Bill_Bryson" title="Bill Bryson">Bryson, Bill</a> (September 17, 2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=nwSm4UVY8uMC&pg=PT9">Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words</a>. Crown. p. 9. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7679-1047-7" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7679-1047-7"><bdi>978-0-7679-1047-7</bdi></a>. Retrieved March 11, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Bryson%27s+Dictionary+of+Troublesome+Words&rft.pages=9&rft.pub=Crown&rft.date=2002-09-17&rft.isbn=978-0-7679-1047-7&rft.aulast=Bryson&rft.aufirst=Bill&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DnwSm4UVY8uMC%26pg%3DPT9&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Garner2009-31"><a href="#cite_ref-Garner2009_31-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGarner2009" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Bryan_Garner" class="mw-redirect" title="Bryan Garner">Garner, Bryan</a> (July 28, 2009). <a href="/wiki/Garner%27s_Modern_American_Usage" class="mw-redirect" title="Garner's Modern American Usage">Garner's Modern American Usage</a>. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_Press" title="Oxford University Press">Oxford University Press</a>. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Sd3byNeBdR4C&pg=PA2">2</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-987462-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-987462-0"><bdi>978-0-19-987462-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Garner%27s+Modern+American+Usage&rft.pages=2&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2009-07-28&rft.isbn=978-0-19-987462-0&rft.aulast=Garner&rft.aufirst=Bryan&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-SiegalConnolly2015-32"><a href="#cite_ref-SiegalConnolly2015_32-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSiegalConnoly2015" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Allan_M._Siegal" title="Allan M. Siegal">Siegal, Allan M.</a>; <a href="/wiki/William_G._Connolly" title="William G. Connolly">Connoly, William G.</a> (2015). <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Manual_of_Style_and_Usage" title="The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage">The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage</a>: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative News Organization (5th ed.). Three Rivers Press. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=AfbaCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5">5</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-101-90544-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-101-90544-9"><bdi>978-1-101-90544-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+New+York+Times+Manual+of+Style+and+Usage%3A+The+Official+Style+Guide+Used+by+the+Writers+and+Editors+of+the+World%27s+Most+Authoritative+News+Organization&rft.pages=5&rft.edition=5th&rft.pub=Three+Rivers+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=978-1-101-90544-9&rft.aulast=Siegal&rft.aufirst=Allan+M.&rft.au=Connoly%2C+William+G.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-BuzzFeed-33"><a href="#cite_ref-BuzzFeed_33-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFavilla2019" class="citation web cs1">Favilla, Emmy (December 27, 2019). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmyf/buzzfeed-style-guide#2370665">"BuzzFeed Style Guide"</a>. BuzzFeed.com. BuzzFeed. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200405210420/https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmyf/buzzfeed-style-guide#2370665">Archived</a> from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=BuzzFeed.com&rft.atitle=BuzzFeed+Style+Guide&rft.date=2019-12-27&rft.aulast=Favilla&rft.aufirst=Emmy&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Femmyf%2Fbuzzfeed-style-guide%232370665&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRobinson2008" class="citation book cs1">Robinson, Paul (2008). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=oy9GzLqkMr0C&pg=PA31">"C4ISR"</a>. Dictionary of international security. Polity. p. 31. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7456-4028-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7456-4028-0"><bdi>978-0-7456-4028-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=C4ISR&rft.btitle=Dictionary+of+international+security&rft.pages=31&rft.pub=Polity&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=978-0-7456-4028-0&rft.aulast=Robinson&rft.aufirst=Paul&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3Doy9GzLqkMr0C%26pg%3DPA31&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=6791">"Acronyms (and other forms of abbreviation)"</a>. <a href="/wiki/US_Department_of_Homeland_Security" class="mw-redirect" title="US Department of Homeland Security">US Department of Homeland Security</a>. November 12, 2008. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170336/http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=6791">Archived</a> from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Acronyms+%28and+other+forms+of+abbreviation%29&rft.pub=US+Department+of+Homeland+Security&rft.date=2008-11-12&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hsdl.org%2F%3Fview%26did%3D6791&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Davenport-36"><a href="#cite_ref-Davenport_36-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDavenport1943" class="citation journal cs1">Davenport, Basil (February 1943). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.157029">"Initials into Words"</a>. <a href="/wiki/American_Notes_and_Queries" class="mw-redirect" title="American Notes and Queries">American Notes and Queries</a>. 2: 167 – via Internet Archive. <q>Your correspondent who asks about words made up of the initial letters or syllables of other words may be interested in knowing that I have seen such words called by the name acronym, which is useful and clear to anyone who knows a little Greek.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=American+Notes+and+Queries&rft.atitle=Initials+into+Words&rft.volume=2&rft.pages=167&rft.date=1943-02&rft.aulast=Davenport&rft.aufirst=Basil&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fin.ernet.dli.2015.157029&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHarper" class="citation web cs1">Harper, Douglas. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.etymonline.com/baloney.php">"Baloney"</a>. Online Etymology Dictionary. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220417143143/http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/fuck.asp">Archived</a> from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2009.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Online+Etymology+Dictionary&rft.atitle=Baloney&rft.aulast=Harper&rft.aufirst=Douglas&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.etymonline.com%2Fbaloney.php&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wilton-38">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Wilton_38-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Wilton_38-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWilton2004" class="citation book cs1">Wilton, David (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/wordmythsdebunki00wilt_0">Word myths: debunking linguistic urban legends</a>. Oxford University Press, USA. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/wordmythsdebunki00wilt_0/page/79">79</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-517284-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-517284-3"><bdi>978-0-19-517284-3</bdi></a>. Retrieved September 16, 2010. <q>Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Word+myths%3A+debunking+linguistic+urban+legends&rft.pages=79&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press%2C+USA&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-0-19-517284-3&rft.aulast=Wilton&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fwordmythsdebunki00wilt_0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/acronyms.asp">"Urban Legends Reference Pages: Language (Acronyms)"</a>. Snopes.com. Retrieved September 16, 2010.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Urban+Legends+Reference+Pages%3A+Language+%28Acronyms%29&rft.pub=Snopes.com&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.snopes.com%2Flanguage%2Facronyms%2Facronyms.asp&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988">[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot">permanent dead link</a>‍] </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation cs2"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/271930">"abjad, n."</a>, Oxford English Dictionary</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=abjad%2C+n.&rft.btitle=Oxford+English+Dictionary&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oed.com%2Fview%2FEntry%2F271930&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988">. </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation cs2"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/25693">"cabal, n."</a>, Oxford English Dictionary</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=cabal%2C+n.&rft.btitle=Oxford+English+Dictionary&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oed.com%2Fview%2FEntry%2F25693&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988">. </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a> K. 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HarperCollins. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-085153-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-06-085153-8"><bdi>978-0-06-085153-8</bdi></a>. Retrieved March 4, 2020 – via Internet Archive.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ballyhoo%2C+Buckaroo%2C+and+Spuds&rft.pub=HarperCollins&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=978-0-06-085153-8&rft.aulast=Quinion&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fballyhoobuckaroo0000quin_z4e2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/golf.asp">"See article at Snopes"</a>. Snopes.com. 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London. December 19, 2008. <q>Use all capitals if an abbreviation is pronounced as the individual letters (an initialism): BBC, CEO, US, VAT, etc; if it is an acronym (pronounced as a word) spell out with initial capital, eg Nasa, Nato, Unicef, unless it can be considered to have entered the language as an everyday word, such as <a href="/wiki/Awol" class="mw-redirect" title="Awol">awol</a>, <a href="/wiki/Laser" title="Laser">laser</a> and, more recently, <a href="/wiki/Asbo" class="mw-redirect" title="Asbo">asbo</a>, <a href="/wiki/Pin_number" class="mw-redirect" title="Pin number">pin number</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sim_card" class="mw-redirect" title="Sim card">sim card</a>. Note that <a href="/wiki/Pdf" class="mw-redirect" title="Pdf">pdf</a> and <a href="/wiki/Public_limited_company" title="Public limited company">plc</a> are lowercase.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Guardian&rft.atitle=Styleguide&rft.date=2008-12-19&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fstyleguide&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><a href="#cite_ref-69">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110707214856/http://www.bbctraining.com/pdfs/newsStyleGuide.pdf">"BBC News Style Guide"</a> (PDF). BBCTraining.com. <a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a>. 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Retrieved September 4, 2017. <q>Chưa kể cách viết này còn dễ bị cho là lười biếng hoặc tỏ ra quan trọng, vì đây là cách chép nguyên xi, máy móc các cụm từ viết tắt từ văn bản pháp quy của chính quyền, như TTLT-VKSNDTC-TANDTC, khá phổ biến ở Việt Nam hiện nay.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=T%E1%BB%AB+vi%E1%BA%BFt+t%E1%BA%AFt&rft.pub=BBC+Academy&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Facademy%2Fvietnamese%2Farticle%2Fart20131007102738486&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAcronym" class="Z3988"> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Acronym&action=edit&section=51" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid 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title="wiktionary:acronym">acronym</a>, <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/initialism" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:initialism">initialism</a>, or <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alphabetism" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:alphabetism">alphabetism</a> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.</div></div> </div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul 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.navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Personal_names" title="Template:Personal names"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Personal_names" title="Template talk:Personal names"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Personal_names" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Personal names"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Personal_names_and_anthroponymy" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Personal_name" title="Personal name">Personal names</a> and <a href="/wiki/Anthroponymy" title="Anthroponymy">anthroponymy</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Personal name</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Birth_name" title="Birth name">Birth name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Given_name" title="Given name">Given name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surname" title="Surname">Surname</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Patrilineality" title="Patrilineality">Patrilineal</a>/<a href="/wiki/Matriname" title="Matriname">Matrilineal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_family_name_affixes" title="List of family name affixes">Affixes</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nobiliary_particle" title="Nobiliary particle">Nobiliary particle</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">By sequence</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_name" class="mw-redirect" title="First name">First name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_name" title="Middle name">Middle name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surname" title="Surname">Last name</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">By trait</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Diminutive" title="Diminutive">Diminutive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Double-barrelled_name" title="Double-barrelled name">Double-barrelled</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epithet" title="Epithet">Epithet</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Animal_epithet" title="Animal epithet">Animal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_people_by_epithet" title="Lists of people by epithet">Common</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plant_epithet" title="Plant epithet">Plant</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eponym" title="Eponym">Eponymic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Matronymic" title="Matronymic">Matronymic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metonymy" title="Metonymy">Metonymic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mononymous_person" class="mw-redirect" title="Mononymous person">Mononymic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Occupational_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Occupational name">Occupational</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patronymic" title="Patronymic">Patronymic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Patronymic_surname" title="Patronymic surname">Surname</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sobriquet" title="Sobriquet">Sobriquet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Teknonymy" title="Teknonymy">Teknonymic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Toponymy" title="Toponymy">Toponymic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Toponymic_surname" title="Toponymic surname">Surname</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patrial_name" title="Patrial name">Patrial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Unisex_name" title="Unisex name">Unisex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virtue_name" title="Virtue name">Virtue</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">By life situation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aptronym" title="Aptronym">Aptronym</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Birth_name" title="Birth name">Birth name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Code_name" title="Code name">Code name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maiden_and_married_names" title="Maiden and married names">Maiden and married names</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Necronym" title="Necronym">Necronym</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Posthumous_name" title="Posthumous name">Posthumous name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Temple_name" title="Temple name">Temple name</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Placeholder_name" title="Placeholder name">Placeholder name</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Notname" title="Notname">Notname</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regnal_name" title="Regnal name">Regnal name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slave_name" title="Slave name">Slave name</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Pseudonym" title="Pseudonym">Pseudonyms</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_pseudonyms" title="List of pseudonyms">list</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Art_name" title="Art name">Art name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bug%C5%8D" title="Bugō">Bugō</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nickname" title="Nickname">Nicknames</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_nicknames" title="Lists of nicknames">list</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hypocorism" title="Hypocorism">Hypocorism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_by_nickname" title="List of monarchs by nickname">Monarchs</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nom_de_guerre" class="mw-redirect" title="Nom de guerre">Nom de guerre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pen_name" title="Pen name">Pen name</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Heteronym_(literature)" title="Heteronym (literature)">Heteronym</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ring_name" title="Ring name">Ring name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shikona" title="Shikona">Shikona</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stage_name" title="Stage name">Stage name</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_stage_names" title="List of stage names">List</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_one-word_stage_names" title="List of one-word stage names">Mononyms</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Username" class="mw-redirect" title="Username">Username</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">By culture <a href="/wiki/Surnames_by_country" title="Surnames by country">Surnames by country</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/East_Asian_cultural_sphere" class="mw-redirect" title="East Asian cultural sphere">East Asian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Amami_name" title="Amami name">Amami</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_name" title="Chinese name">Chinese</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Courtesy_name" title="Courtesy name">Courtesy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Art_name" title="Art name">Art</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Generation_name" title="Generation name">Generation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_titles" title="Chinese titles">Titles</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Japanese_name" title="Japanese name">Japanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Korean_name" title="Korean name">Korean</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manchu_name" title="Manchu name">Manchu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Okinawan_name" title="Okinawan name">Okinawan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naming_customs_of_Taiwanese_indigenous_peoples" title="Naming customs of Taiwanese indigenous peoples">Indigenous Taiwanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_name" title="Vietnamese name">Vietnamese</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Northern Asia and Central Asia</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kalmyk_name" title="Kalmyk name">Kalmyk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mongolian_name" title="Mongolian name">Mongolian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yakut_names" class="mw-redirect" title="Yakut names">Sakha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tibetan_name" title="Tibetan name">Tibetan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Muslim_world" title="Muslim world">Muslim world</a> and Western Asia</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Afghan_name" title="Afghan name">Afghan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arabic_name" title="Arabic name">Arabic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Azerbaijani_name" title="Azerbaijani name">Azerbaijani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bengali_name" title="Bengali name">Bengali</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Berber_name&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Berber name (page does not exist)">Berber</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coptic_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Coptic name">Coptic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mandaean_name" title="Mandaean name">Mandaean</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pakistani_name" title="Pakistani name">Pakistani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pashtun_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Pashtun name">Pashtun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Persian_name" title="Persian name">Persian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sindhi_names" title="Sindhi names">Sindhi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Somali_name" title="Somali name">Somali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tatar_name" title="Tatar name">Tatar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkish_name" title="Turkish name">Turkish</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania">Oceania</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_kinship" title="Australian Aboriginal kinship">Australian Aboriginal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fijian_name" title="Fijian name">Fijian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hawaiian_name" title="Hawaiian name">Hawaiian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/M%C4%81ori_naming_customs" title="Māori naming customs">Māori</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa" title="Sub-Saharan Africa">Sub-Saharan Africa</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Akan_names" title="Akan names">Ashanti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo_naming_customs" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo naming customs">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naming_conventions_in_Eritrea_and_Ethiopia" title="Naming conventions in Eritrea and Ethiopia">Eritrean and Ethiopian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ewe_language#Naming_system" title="Ewe language">Ewe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ghanaian_name" title="Ghanaian name">Ghanaian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Igbo_name" title="Igbo name">Igbo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yoruba_name" title="Yoruba name">Yoruba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zimbabwean_names" title="Zimbabwean names">Zimbabwean</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_America" title="North America">North America</a> and <a href="/wiki/Australasia" title="Australasia">Australasia</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Albanian_name" title="Albanian name">Albanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Armenian_name" title="Armenian name">Armenian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jewish_surname#Ashkenazi_Jewry" title="Jewish surname">Ashkenazi Jewish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basque_surnames" title="Basque surnames">Basque</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Estonian_name&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Estonian name (page does not exist)">Estonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Finnish_name" title="Finnish name">Finnish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Georgian_name" title="Georgian name">Georgian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greek_name" title="Greek name">Greek</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Greek_personal_names" title="Ancient Greek personal names">Ancient Greek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greek_Cypriot_name" title="Greek Cypriot name">Cypriot</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hungarian_names" title="Hungarian names">Hungarian</a></li></ul> </div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Baltic_languages" title="Baltic languages">Baltic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Latvian_name" title="Latvian name">Latvian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_name" title="Lithuanian name">Lithuanian</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Celtic_onomastics" title="Celtic onomastics">Celtic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cornish_surnames" title="Cornish surnames">Cornish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Irish_name" title="Irish name">Irish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manx_surnames" title="Manx surnames">Manx</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_name" title="Scottish Gaelic name">Scottish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_surnames" title="Welsh surnames">Welsh</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Germanic_name" title="Germanic name">Germanic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dutch_name" title="Dutch name">Dutch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_name" title="English name">English</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Naming_in_the_United_States" title="Naming in the United States">American</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/African-American_names" title="African-American names">African-American</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Canadian_name" title="Canadian name">Canadian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hong_Kong_name" title="Hong Kong name">Hongkongese</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_name" title="German name">German</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gothic_name" title="Gothic name">Gothic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Icelandic_name" title="Icelandic name">Icelandic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scandinavian_family_name_etymology" title="Scandinavian family name etymology">Scandinavian</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Swedish_name" title="Swedish name">Swedish</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Romance_languages" title="Romance languages">Romance</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Catalan_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Catalan name">Catalan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_name" title="French name">French</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italian_name" title="Italian name">Italian</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Occitan_name&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Occitan name (page does not exist)">Occitan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portuguese_name" title="Portuguese name">Portuguese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roman_naming_conventions" title="Roman naming conventions">Roman</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Praenomen" title="Praenomen">Praenomen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nomen_(Roman_name)" class="mw-redirect" title="Nomen (Roman name)">Nomen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cognomen" title="Cognomen">Cognomen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agnomen" title="Agnomen">Agnomen</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romanian_name" title="Romanian name">Romanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_naming_customs" title="Spanish naming customs">Spanish</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Naming_customs_of_Hispanic_America" title="Naming customs of Hispanic America">Hispanic America</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Slavic_names" title="Slavic names">Slavic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bulgarian_name" title="Bulgarian name">Bulgarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Croatian_name" title="Croatian name">Croatian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Czech_name" title="Czech name">Czech</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Slavic_naming_customs" title="Eastern Slavic naming customs">Eastern Slavic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_name" title="Belarusian name">Belarusian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Slavic_naming_customs" title="Eastern Slavic naming customs">Russian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_name" title="Ukrainian name">Ukrainian</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Kashubian_name&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Kashubian name (page does not exist)">Kashubian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Macedonian_onomastics" title="Macedonian onomastics">Macedonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish name">Polish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serbian_name" title="Serbian name">Serbian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slovak_name" title="Slovak name">Slovak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slavic_name_suffixes" title="Slavic name suffixes">Suffixes</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Indosphere" title="Indosphere">Indosphere</a> (<a href="/wiki/South_Asia" title="South Asia">South Asia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Southeast_Asia" title="Southeast Asia">Southeast Asia</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Balinese_name" title="Balinese name">Balinese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bengali_name" title="Bengali name">Bengali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burmese_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Burmese name">Burmese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Filipino_name" title="Filipino name">Filipino</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indonesian_names" title="Indonesian names">Indonesian</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_Indonesian_surname" title="Chinese Indonesian surname">Chinese</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Javanese_name" title="Javanese name">Javanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Khmer_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Khmer name">Cambodian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malaysian_names" title="Malaysian names">Malaysian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indian_name" title="Indian name">Indian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lao_name" title="Lao name">Lao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pakistani_name" title="Pakistani name">Pakistani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sindhi_names" title="Sindhi names">Sindhi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sinhalese_name" title="Sinhalese name">Sinhalese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naming_conventions_of_ancient_Tamil_country" class="mw-redirect" title="Naming conventions of ancient Tamil country">Ancient Tamil country</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thai_name" title="Thai name">Thai</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Religious_name" title="Religious name">By religion</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christian_name" title="Christian name">Christian name</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_biblical_names" title="List of biblical names">Biblical name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papal_name" title="Papal name">Papal name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saint%27s_name" title="Saint's name">Saint's name</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buddhist_surname" title="Buddhist surname">Buddhist surname</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dharma_name" title="Dharma name">Dharma name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jewish_name" title="Jewish name">Jewish name</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Hebrew_name" title="Hebrew name">Hebrew</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mandaean_name" title="Mandaean name">Mandaean name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theophoric_name" title="Theophoric name">Theophoric name</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Manners of address <a href="/wiki/List_of_titles" title="List of titles">List</a> <a href="/wiki/Title_of_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Title of authority">of authority</a>/<a href="/wiki/Title_of_honor" title="Title of honor">of honour</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Style_(form_of_address)" title="Style (form of address)">Styles</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Honorific" title="Honorific">Honorific</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Diplomatic_rank" title="Diplomatic rank">Diplomatic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Royal_and_noble_styles" title="Royal and noble styles">Imperial, royal, and noble</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judiciary_styles" class="mw-redirect" title="Judiciary styles">Judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_religious_titles_and_styles" title="List of religious titles and styles">Religious</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ecclesiastical_titles_and_styles" title="Ecclesiastical titles and styles">Ecclesiastical</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pre-nominal_letters" title="Pre-nominal letters">Pre-nominal letters</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suffix_(name)" title="Suffix (name)">Suffix</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Emeritus" title="Emeritus">Emeritus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post-nominal_letters" title="Post-nominal letters">Post-nominal letters</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Academic_degree" title="Academic degree">Academic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Order_(distinction)" title="Order (distinction)">Orders</a>, <a href="/wiki/Award" title="Award">decorations</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Medal" title="Medal">medals</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Title" title="Title">Titles</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Academic_degree" title="Academic degree">Academic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Imperial,_royal_and_noble_ranks" title="Imperial, royal and noble ranks">Imperial, royal and noble</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chivalry" title="Chivalry">Chivalric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Courtesy_title" title="Courtesy title">Courtesy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/False_titles_of_nobility" title="False titles of nobility">False</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hereditary_title" title="Hereditary title">Hereditary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subsidiary_title" title="Subsidiary title">Subsidiary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Substantive_title" title="Substantive title">Substantive</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_rank" title="Military rank">Military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Professional_titles" class="mw-redirect" title="Professional titles">Professional</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Academic_ranks" class="mw-redirect" title="Academic ranks">Academic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Professional_degree" title="Professional degree">Educational</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Honorary_title_(academic)" title="Honorary title (academic)">Honorary</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Corporate_title" title="Corporate title">Business</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Diplomatic_rank" title="Diplomatic rank">Diplomatic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_titles" class="mw-redirect" title="Judicial titles">Judicial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_religious_titles_and_styles" title="List of religious titles and styles">Religious</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ecclesiastical_titles_and_styles" title="Ecclesiastical titles and styles">Ecclesiastical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papal_titles" title="Papal titles">Papal</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related traditions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Baptism" title="Baptism">Baptism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Name_day" title="Name day">Name day</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Calendar_of_saints" title="Calendar of saints">Calendar of saints</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Acronym</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anonymity" title="Anonymity">Anonymity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anthropomorphism" title="Anthropomorphism">Anthropomorphism</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Personification" title="Personification">Personification</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/National_personification" title="National personification">National</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Call_sign" title="Call sign">Call sign</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deadnaming" title="Deadnaming">Deadnaming</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Endonym_and_exonym" title="Endonym and exonym">Endonym and exonym</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Family" title="Family">Family</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Galton%E2%80%93Watson_process" title="Galton–Watson process">Galton–Watson process</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legal_name" title="Legal name">Legal name</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Name_change" title="Name change">Name change</a></li></ul></li> <li>List <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_most_popular_given_names" title="List of most popular given names">Given</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_most_common_surnames" title="Lists of most common surnames">Surname</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Namesake" title="Namesake">Namesake</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naming_taboo" title="Naming taboo">Naming taboo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nomenclature" title="Nomenclature">Nomenclature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nomen_nescio" title="Nomen nescio">Nomen nescio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Misnomer" title="Misnomer">Misnomer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Onomastics" title="Onomastics">Onomastics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/-onym" title="-onym">-onym</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Personal_identity" title="Personal identity">Personal identity</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Identifier" title="Identifier">Identifier</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proper_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Proper name">Proper name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Signature" title="Signature">Signature</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Monogram" title="Monogram">Monogram</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Royal_cypher" title="Royal cypher">Royal cypher</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Khelrtva" title="Khelrtva">Khelrtva</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Signum_manus" title="Signum manus">Signum manus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tughra" title="Tughra">Tughra</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surnames_by_country" title="Surnames by country">Surnames by country</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow hlist" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Lists_of_names" title="Category:Lists of names">Category:Lists of names</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a>: National <a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q101244#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" 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