bahan ajar morfology.docx

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Word Formation: Compounding, Clipping, and Blendingwritten by: Heather Marie Kosur edited by: Tricia Goss updated: 11/8/2012

The word formation processes of compounding, clipping, and blending are important concepts when creating words.

Also included for download are vocabulary lists of common English compounds, clipped words, and blends.

Compounding

Compounding is the word formation process in which two or more lexemes combine into a single new word.

Compound words may be written as one word or as two words joined with a hyphen. For example:

noun-noun compound: note + book notebook red coat(angkatan bersenjata)

laptop

arm chair

adjective-noun compound: blue + berry blueberry

verb-noun compound: work + room workroom

noun-verb compound: breast + feed breastfeed

verb-verb compound: stir + fry stir-fry

adjective-verb compound: high + light highlight

verb-preposition compound: break + up breakup

preposition-verb compound: out + run outrun

adjective-adjective compound: bitter + sweet bittersweet

preposition-preposition compound: in + to into

Compounds may be compositional, meaning that the meaning of the new word is determined by combining the

meanings of the parts, or noncompositional, meaning that the meaning of the new word cannot be determined by

combining the meanings of the parts. For example, a blueberry is a berry that is blue. However, a breakupis not a

relationship that was severed into pieces in an upward direction.

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Compound nouns should not be confused withnouns modified by adjectives, verbs, and other nouns.For example, the

adjective blackof the noun phrase black birdis different from the adjective blackof the compound noun blackbirdin

that blackof black birdfunctions as a noun phrase modifier while the blackof blackbirdis an inseparable part of the

noun: a black bird also refers to any bird that is black in color while a blackbird is a specific type of bird.

ClippingClipping is the word formation process in which a word is reduced or shortened without changing the meaning of the

word. Clipping differs from back-formation in that the new word retains the meaning of the original word. For

example:

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alligatorgator

examinationexam

gasolinegas

gymnasiumgym

influenzaflu

laboratorylab mathematicsmath
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memorandummemo

photographphoto

public housepub

raccooncoon

reputationrep

situation comedysitcom

telephonephone

The four types of clipping are back clipping, fore-clipping, middle clipping, and complex clipping. Back clipping is

removing the end of a word as ingasfromgasoline. Fore-clipping is removing the beginning of a word as

ingatorfromalligator. Middle clipping is retaining only the middle of a word as in flufrom influenza. Complex

clipping is removing multiple parts from multiple words as insitcomfromsituation comedy.

Blending,SAME AS LIKE COMPOUNDING.BUT PART OF THE WORD Deleted,usually 1st

partof1stword+end of 2nd word

Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words combine to create a new word whosemeaning is often a combination of the original words. For example:

advertisement + entertainment advertainment

biographical + picture biopic

breakfast + lunch brunch

chuckle + snort chortle

cybernetic + organism cyborg

guess + estimate guesstimate

hazardous + material hazmat

motor + hotel motelmotor bergerak

prim + sissy prissy simultaneous + broadcast simulcast

smoke + fog smog

Spanish + English Spanglish

spoon + fork spork

telephone + marathon telethon

web + seminar webinar

agitprop(agitation+propaganda)

camcorder(camera+recorder)

docudrama(documentary+drama)

infotainment(information+ENTERTAINMENT)

wireless+fidelity=wi-fy

Blended words are also referred to as portmanteaus.

Printable Downloads

For more complete lists of English words formed through compounding, clipping, and blending, please download the

following free printable vocabulary lists:

Compound Noun List: English Compound Nouns

List of English Clipped Words

List of English Blend Words

WORD FORMATION: CREATING NEW WORDS IN ENGLISH
http://images.brighthub.com/media/B8626F_englishcompoundwords.dochttp://images.brighthub.com/media/616AFA_englishclippedwords.dochttp://images.brighthub.com/media/A9D617_englishblends.dochttp://images.brighthub.com/media/A9D617_englishblends.dochttp://images.brighthub.com/media/616AFA_englishclippedwords.dochttp://images.brighthub.com/media/B8626F_englishcompoundwords.doc


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The articles in this series define and exemplify the most common word formation processes, or the creation

of new words, in English including derivation, back-formation, conversion, compounding, clipping, blending,

abbreviations, acronyms, eponyms, coinages, nonce words, borrowing, and calquing.

1. Word Formation: Derivation and Back-Formation

2. Word Formation: Conversion

3. Word Formation: Compounding, Clipping, and Blending

4. Word Formation: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Eponyms

5. Word Formation: Coinages, Nonce Words, Borrowing, and Calquing

BORROWING

Loanwords are words adopted by the speakers of one language from a different language(the source language). A loanword can also be called a borrowing. The abstract

noun borrowing refers to the process of speakers adopting words from a source languageinto their native language. "Loan" and "borrowing" are of course metaphors, because there isno literal lending process. There is no transfer from one language to another, and no"returning" words to the source language. The words simply come to be used by a speechcommunity that speaks a different language from the one these words originated in.

Borrowing is a consequence of cultural contact between two language communities.Borrowing of words can go in both directions between the two languages in contact, butoften there is an asymmetry, such that more words go from one side to the other. In this casethe source language community has some advantage of power, prestige and/or wealth thatmakes the objects and ideas it brings desirable and useful to the borrowing languagecommunity. For example, the Germanic tribes in the first few centuries A.D. adopted

numerous loanwords from Latin as they adopted new products via trade with the Romans.Few Germanic words, on the other hand, passed into Latin.

The actual process of borrowing is complex and involves many usage events (i.e. instances ofuse of the new word). Generally, some speakers of the borrowing language know the sourcelanguage too, or at least enough of it to utilize the relevant word. They (often consciously)adopt the new word when speaking the borrowing language, because it most exactly fits theidea they are trying to express. If they are bilingual in the source language, which is often thecase, they might pronounce the words the same or similar to the way they are pronounced inthe source language. For example, English speakers adopted the word garagefrom French,at first with a pronunciation nearer to the French pronunciation than is now usually found.Presumably the very first speakers who used the word in English knew at least some French

and heard the word used by French speakers, in a French-speaking context.

Those who first use the new word might use it at first only with speakers of the sourcelanguage who know the word, but at some point they come to use the word with those towhom the word was not previously known. To these speakers the word may sound 'foreign'.At this stage, when most speakers do not know the word and if they hear it think it is fromanother language, the word can be called aforeign word. There are many foreign words andphrases used in English such as bon vivant(French), mutatis mutandis(Latin),andFahrvergnuegen(German).

However, in time more speakers can become familiar with a new foreign word or expression.The community of users of this word can grow to the point where even people who knowlittle or nothing of the source language understand, and even use, the novel word themselves.
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59338-word-back-formation-list/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59338-word-back-formation-list/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59339-teaching-word-formation-conversion/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59339-teaching-word-formation-conversion/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59679-forming-new-words-compounds-clipping-and-blends/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59679-forming-new-words-compounds-clipping-and-blends/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-teaching-tips/59719-forming-new-words-abbreviations-acronyms-and-eponyms/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-teaching-tips/59719-forming-new-words-abbreviations-acronyms-and-eponyms/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/60060-formation-types-coinages-nonce-loanwords-and-calques/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/60060-formation-types-coinages-nonce-loanwords-and-calques/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/60060-formation-types-coinages-nonce-loanwords-and-calques/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-teaching-tips/59719-forming-new-words-abbreviations-acronyms-and-eponyms/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59679-forming-new-words-compounds-clipping-and-blends/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59339-teaching-word-formation-conversion/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59338-word-back-formation-list/


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The new word becomes conventionalized: part of the conventional ways of speaking in theborrowing language. At this point we call it a borrowing or loanword.

(It should be noted that not all foreign words do become loanwords; if they fall out of usebefore they become widespread, they do not reach the loanword stage.)

Conventionalization is a gradual process in which a word progressively permeates a largerand larger speech community, becoming part of ever more people's linguistic repetoire. Aspart of its becoming more familiar to more people, a newly borrowed word gradually adoptssound and other characteristics of the borrowing language as speakers who do not know thesource language accommodate it to their own linguistic systems. In time, people in theborrowing community do not perceive the word as a loanword at all. Generally, the longer aborrowed word has been in the language, and the more frequently it is used, the more itresembles the native words of the language.

English has gone through many periods in which large numbers of words from a particularlanguage were borrowed. These periods coincide with times of major cultural contactbetween English speakers and those speaking other languages. The waves of borrowingduring periods of especially strong cultural contacts are not sharply delimited, and canoverlap. For example, the Norse influence on English began already in the 8th century A.D.and continued strongly well after the Norman Conquest brought a large influx of NormanFrench to the language.

It is part of the cultural history of English speakers that they have always adopted loanwordsfrom the languages of whatever cultures they have come in contact with. There have been fewperiods when borrowing became unfashionable, and there has never been a nationalacademy in Britain, the U.S., or other English-speaking countries to attempt to restrict newloanwords, as there has been in many continental European countries.

The following list is a small sampling of the loanwords that came into English in differentperiods and from different languages.

I. Germanic period

LatinThe forms given in this section are the Old English ones. The original Latin source word isgiven in parentheses where significantly different. Some Latin words were themselvesoriginally borrowed from Greek. It can be deduced that these borrowings date from the timebefore the Angles and Saxons left the continent for England, because of very similar formsfound in the other old Germanic languages (Old High German, Old Saxon, etc.). The source

words are generally attested in Latin texts, in the large body of Latin writings that werepreserved through the ages.

ancor 'anchor'

butere 'butter' (L < Gr. butyros)

cealc 'chalk'

ceas 'cheese' (caseum)

cetel 'kettle'

cycene 'kitchen'

cirice 'church' (ecclesia < Gr. ecclesia)disc 'dish' (discus)


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Mil 'mile' (milia [passuum] 'a thousand paces')

piper 'pepper'

pund 'pound' (pondo 'a weight')

sacc 'sack' (saccus)

sicol 'sickle'

straet 'street' ([via] strata 'straight way' or stone-paved road)

weall 'wall' (vallum)

Win 'wine' (vinum < Gr. oinos)

II. Old English Period (600-1100)

Latin

apostol 'apostle' (apostolus < Gr. apostolos)

casere 'caesar, emperor'

ceaster 'city' (castra 'camp')

cest 'chest' (cista 'box')

circul 'circle'

cometa 'comet' (cometa < Greek)

maegester 'master' (magister)

martir 'martyr'

paper 'paper' (papyrus, from Gr.)

tigle 'tile' (tegula)

Celtic

brocc 'badger'

cumb 'combe, valley'

(few ordinary words, but thousands of place and river names: London, Carlisle,Devon, Dover, Cornwall, Thames, Avon...)

III. Middle English Period (1100-1500)

ScandinavianMost of these first appeared in the written language in Middle English; but many were nodoubt borrowed earlier, during the period of the Danelaw (9th-10th centuries).

anger, blight, by-law, cake, call, clumsy, doze, egg, fellow, gear, get, give, hale, hit,husband, kick, kill, kilt, kindle, law, low, lump, rag, raise, root, scathe, scorch, score,scowl, scrape, scrub, seat, skill, skin, skirt, sky, sly, take, they, them, their, thrall,thrust, ugly, want, window, wing

Place name suffixes: -by, -thorpe, -gate

French


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Law and governmentattorney, bailiff, chancellor, chattel, country, court, crime,defendent, evidence, government, jail, judge, jury, larceny, noble, parliament,plaintiff, plea, prison, revenue, state, tax, verdict

Churchabbot, chaplain, chapter, clergy, friar, prayer, preach, priest, religion,sacrament, saint, sermon

Nobility

baron, baroness; count, countess; duke, duchess; marquis, marquess;prince, princess; viscount, viscountess; noble, royal (contrast native words: king,queen, earl, lord, lady, knight, kingly, queenly)

Militaryarmy, artillery, battle, captain, company, corporal, defense,enemy,marine,navy, sergeant, soldier, volunteer

Cookingbeef, boil, broil, butcher, dine, fry, mutton, pork, poultry, roast, salmon,stew, veal

Culture and luxury goodsart, bracelet, claret, clarinet, dance, diamond, fashion, fur,jewel, oboe, painting, pendant, satin, ruby, sculpture

Otheradventure, change, charge, chart, courage, devout, dignity, enamor, feign,fruit, letter, literature, magic, male, female, mirror, pilgrimage, proud, question,regard, special

Also Middle English French loans: a huge number of words in age, -ance/-ence, -ant/-ent, -ity, -ment, -tion, con-, de-, and pre- .

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether a given word came from French or whether it was takenstraight from Latin. Words for which this difficulty occurs are those in which there were nospecial sound and/or spelling changes of the sort that distinguished French from Latin

IV. Early Modern English Period (1500-1650)

The effects of the renaissance begin to be seriously felt in England. We see the beginnings of

a huge influx of Latin and Greek words, many of them learned words imported by scholarswell versed in those languages. But many are borrowings from other languages, as wordsfrom European high culture begin to make their presence felt and the first words come infrom the earliest period of colonial expansion.

Latin

agile, abdomen, anatomy, area, capsule, compensate, dexterity, discus, disc/disk,excavate, expensive, fictitious, gradual, habitual, insane, janitor, meditate, notorious,orbit, peninsula, physician, superintendent, ultimate, vindicate

Greek(many of these via Latin)

anonymous, atmosphere, autograph, catastrophe, climax, comedy, critic, data, ectasy,history, ostracize, parasite, pneumonia, skeleton, tonic, tragedy

Greek bound morphemes: -ism, -ize

Arabic

via Spanishalcove, algebra, zenith, algorithm, almanac, azimuth, alchemy, admiral via other Romance languagesamber, cipher, orange, saffron, sugar, zero, coffee

V. Modern English (1650-present)

Period of major colonial expansion, industrial/technological revolution, and American


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immigration.

Words from European languages

French

French continues to be the largest single source of new words outside of very specializedvocabulary domains (scientific/technical vocabulary, still dominated by classicalborrowings).

High cultureballet, bouillabaise, cabernet, cachet, chaise longue, champagne, chic,cognac, corsage, faux pas, nom de plume, quiche, rouge, roulet, sachet, salon, saloon,sang froid, savoir faire

War and Militarybastion, brigade, battalion, cavalry, grenade, infantry, pallisade,rebuff, bayonet

Otherbigot, chassis, clique, denim, garage, grotesque, jean(s), niche, shock French Canadianchowder Louisiana French (Cajun)jambalaya

Spanish

armada, adobe, alligator, alpaca, armadillo, barricade, bravado, cannibal, canyon,coyote, desperado, embargo, enchilada, guitar, marijuana, mesa, mosquito, mustang,ranch, taco, tornado, tortilla, vigilante

Italian

alto, arsenal, balcony, broccoli, cameo, casino, cupola, duo, fresco, fugue, gazette (viaFrench), ghetto, gondola, grotto, macaroni, madrigal, motto, piano, opera,

pantaloons, prima donna, regatta, sequin, soprano, opera, stanza, stucco, studio,tempo, torso, umbrella, viola, violin

from Italian American immigrantscappuccino, espresso, linguini, mafioso, pasta,pizza, ravioli, spaghetti, spumante, zabaglione, zucchini

Dutch, Flemish

Shipping, naval termsavast, boom, bow, bowsprit, buoy, commodore, cruise, dock,freight, keel, keelhaul, leak, pump, reef, scoop, scour, skipper, sloop, smuggle, splice,tackle, yawl, yacht

Cloth industrybale, cambric, duck (fabric), fuller's earth, mart, nap (of cloth),selvage, spool, stripe

Art

easel, etching, landscape, sketch Warbeleaguer, holster, freebooter, furlough, onslaught Food and drinkbooze, brandy(wine), coleslaw, cookie, cranberry, crullers, gin,

hops, stockfish, waffle Otherbugger (orig. French), crap, curl, dollar, scum, split (orig. nautical term),

uproar

German

bum, dunk, feldspar, quartz, hex, lager, knackwurst, liverwurst, loafer, noodle,poodle, dachshund, pretzel, pinochle, pumpernickel, sauerkraut, schnitzel, zwieback,

(beer)stein, lederhosen, dirndl 20th century German loanwordsblitzkrieg, zeppelin, strafe, U-boat, delicatessen,


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hamburger, frankfurter, wiener, hausfrau, kindergarten, Oktoberfest, schuss,wunderkind, bundt (cake), spritz (cookies), (apple) strudel

Yiddish(most are 20th century borrowings)

bagel, Chanukkah (Hanukkah), chutzpah, dreidel, kibbitzer, kosher, lox, pastrami(orig. from Romanian), schlep, spiel, schlepp, schlemiel, schlimazel, gefilte fish, goy,klutz, knish, matzoh, oy vey, schmuck, schnook,

Scandinavian

fjord, maelstrom, ombudsman, ski, slalom, smorgasbord

Russian

apparatchik, borscht, czar/tsar, glasnost, icon, perestroika, vodka

Words from other parts of the world

Sanskrit

avatar, karma, mahatma, swastika, yoga

Hindi

bandanna, bangle, bungalow, chintz, cot, cummerbund, dungaree, juggernaut, jungle,loot, maharaja, nabob, pajamas, punch (the drink), shampoo, thug, kedgeree,jamboree

Dravidian

curry, mango, teak, pariah

Persian (Farsi)

check, checkmate, chess

Arabic

bedouin, emir, jakir, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hashish, lute, minaret, mosque, myrrh,salaam, sirocco, sultan, vizier, bazaar, caravan

African languages

banana (via Portuguese), banjo, boogie-woogie, chigger, goober, gorilla, gumbo, jazz,jitterbug, jitters, juke(box), voodoo, yam, zebra, zombie

American Indian languages

avocado, cacao, cannibal, canoe, chipmunk, chocolate, chili, hammock, hominy,

hurricane, maize, moccasin, moose, papoose, pecan, possum, potato, skunk, squaw,succotash, squash, tamale (via Spanish), teepee, terrapin, tobacco, toboggan,


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tomahawk, tomato, wigwam, woodchuck (plus thousands of place names, including Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatchewan and the

names of more than half thestates of the U.S., including Michigan, Texas, Nebraska, Illinois)

Chinese

chop suey, chow mein, dim sum, ketchup, tea, ginseng, kowtow, litchee

Japanese

geisha, hara kiri, judo, jujitsu, kamikaze, karaoke, kimono, samurai, soy, sumo, sushi,tsunami

Pacific Islands

bamboo, gingham, rattan, taboo, tattoo, ukulele, boondocks

Australia

boomerang, budgerigar, didgeridoo, kangaroo (and many more in AustralianEnglish)

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Full Definition of ACRONYM

: a word (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 (asFBI) formed

from initial letters : initialism

acronymicadjective

acronymically adverb

See acronymdefined for English-language learners See acronymdefined for kids

Examples of ACRONYM

1. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is known by the acronymNATO.

Origin of ACRONYM

acr-+ -onym

First Known Use: 1943
http://self.close%28%29/http://self.close%28%29/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initialismhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initialismhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=acronymhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=acronymhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=acronymhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=acronymhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=acronymhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=acronymhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/acronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initialismhttp://self.close%28%29/


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Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut,allusion,anacoluthon,diacritic,gerund,idiom,infinitive,metaphor,semiotics,simile

Rhymes with ACRONYManonym, antonym, cryptonym, eponym, homonym, metonym, paronym, pseudonym,

retronym,seraphim,synonym,tautonym,toponym,underbrim

Learn More About ACRONYM

Spanish Central Translation: "acronym" in Spanish

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about "acronym"

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Acronym

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to:navigation,search

For the HTML tag, seeHTML element#acronym.

For the use of acronyms on Wikipedia, seeWikipedia:Acronyms.

An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word.These components may be individual letters (as inlaser)or parts of words (as inBeneluxand

Ameslan). There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of various names for

such abbreviations (see nomenclature) nor on written usage (see orthographic styling). In

English and most other languages, such abbreviations historically had limited use, but they

became much more common in the 20th century. Acronyms are a type of word formation

process, and they are viewed as a subtype ofblending.

Contents
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ablauthttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ablauthttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusionhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusionhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusionhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anacoluthonhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anacoluthonhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anacoluthonhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diacritichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diacritichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diacritichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerundhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerundhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerundhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiomhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiomhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiomhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infinitive%5B2%5Dhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infinitive%5B2%5Dhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infinitive%5B2%5Dhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphorhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphorhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphorhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semioticshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semioticshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semioticshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/similehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/similehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/similehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pseudonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pseudonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seraphimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seraphimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seraphimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/synonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/synonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/synonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbrimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbrimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbrimhttp://www.spanishcentral.com/translate/acronymhttp://www.spanishcentral.com/translate/acronymhttp://www.spanishcentral.com/translate/acronymhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/4186/acronymhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/4186/acronymhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/4186/acronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acropetalhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acropetalhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acronarcotichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acronarcotichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/browse/dictionary/acronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/browse/dictionary/acronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/browse/dictionary/acronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#mw-navigationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#mw-navigationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#mw-navigationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#p-searchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#p-searchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#p-searchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element#acronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element#acronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element#acronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneluxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneluxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneluxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Orthographic_stylinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Orthographic_stylinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_formationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_formationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_formationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Orthographic_stylinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneluxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element#acronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#p-searchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#mw-navigationhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/browse/dictionary/acronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acronarcotichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acropetalhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/4186/acronymhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/4186/acronymhttp://www.spanishcentral.com/translate/acronymhttp://www.spanishcentral.com/translate/acronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underbrimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/synonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seraphimhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pseudonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paronymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eponymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anonymhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/similehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semioticshttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphorhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infinitive%5B2%5Dhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiomhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerundhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diacritichttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anacoluthonhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusionhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ablaut


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1 Nomenclature

2 Comparing a few examples of each type

3 Historical and current use

o 3.1 Early examples in English

o 3.2 Current use

3.2.1 Aids to learning the expansion without leaving a document 3.2.2 Jargon

3.2.3 As mnemonics

3.2.4 Acronyms as legendary etymology

4 Orthographic styling

o 4.1 Punctuation

4.1.1 Showing the ellipsis of letters

4.1.1.1 Ellipsis-is-understood style

4.1.1.2 Pronunciation-dependent style

4.1.1.3 Other conventions

4.1.2 Representing plurals and possessives

o 4.2 Case 4.2.1 All-caps style

4.2.1.1 Small-caps variant

4.2.1.2 Mixed-case variant

4.2.2 Pronunciation-dependent style

o 4.3 Numerals and constituent words

o 4.4 Casing of expansions

5 Changes to (or word play on) the expanded meaning

o 5.1 Pseudo-acronyms

o 5.2 Redundant acronyms and RAS syndrome

o 5.3 Simple redefining

o

5.4 Backronymso 5.5 Contrived acronyms

o 5.6 Macronyms/nested acronyms

5.6.1 Recursive acronyms

6 Non-English language

o 6.1 Asian languages

6.1.1 Chinese

6.1.2 Japanese

6.1.3 Indonesian

o 6.2 German

o 6.3 Russian

o

6.4 Hebrew

o 6.5 Swahili

o 6.6 Declension

o 6.7 Lenition

7 Extremes

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

Nomenclature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Comparing_a_few_examples_of_each_typehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Comparing_a_few_examples_of_each_typehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Historical_and_current_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Historical_and_current_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Early_examples_in_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Early_examples_in_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Current_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Current_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Aids_to_learning_the_expansion_without_leaving_a_documenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Aids_to_learning_the_expansion_without_leaving_a_documenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Jargonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Jargonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#As_mnemonicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#As_mnemonicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Acronyms_as_legendary_etymologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Acronyms_as_legendary_etymologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Orthographic_stylinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Orthographic_stylinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Punctuationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Punctuationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Showing_the_ellipsis_of_lettershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Showing_the_ellipsis_of_lettershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Ellipsis-is-understood_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Ellipsis-is-understood_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pronunciation-dependent_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pronunciation-dependent_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Other_conventionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Other_conventionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Representing_plurals_and_possessiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Representing_plurals_and_possessiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Casehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Casehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#All-caps_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#All-caps_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Small-caps_varianthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Small-caps_varianthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Mixed-case_varianthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Mixed-case_varianthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pronunciation-dependent_style_2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pronunciation-dependent_style_2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Numerals_and_constituent_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Numerals_and_constituent_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Casing_of_expansionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Casing_of_expansionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Changes_to_.28or_word_play_on.29_the_expanded_meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Changes_to_.28or_word_play_on.29_the_expanded_meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pseudo-acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pseudo-acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Simple_redefininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Simple_redefininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Backronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Backronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Contrived_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Contrived_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Macronyms.2Fnested_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Macronyms.2Fnested_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Recursive_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Recursive_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Non-English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Non-English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Asian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Asian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Chinesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Chinesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Japanesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Japanesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Indonesianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Indonesianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Hebrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Hebrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Swahilihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Swahilihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Declensionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Declensionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Lenitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Lenitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Extremeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Extremeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Extremeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Lenitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Declensionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Swahilihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Hebrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Indonesianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Japanesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Chinesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Asian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Non-English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Recursive_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Macronyms.2Fnested_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Contrived_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Backronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Simple_redefininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Redundant_acronyms_and_RAS_syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pseudo-acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Changes_to_.28or_word_play_on.29_the_expanded_meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Casing_of_expansionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Numerals_and_constituent_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pronunciation-dependent_style_2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Mixed-case_varianthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Small-caps_varianthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#All-caps_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Casehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Representing_plurals_and_possessiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Other_conventionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Pronunciation-dependent_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Ellipsis-is-understood_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Showing_the_ellipsis_of_lettershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Punctuationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Orthographic_stylinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Acronyms_as_legendary_etymologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#As_mnemonicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Jargonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Aids_to_learning_the_expansion_without_leaving_a_documenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Current_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Early_examples_in_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Historical_and_current_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Comparing_a_few_examples_of_each_typehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclature


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The term acronym is the name for a word from the first letters of each word in a series of

words (such as sonar, created from SOund Navigation And Ranging).[1] Attestations for

"Akronym" in German are known from 1921, and for "acronym" in English from 1940.[2]

While an abbreviation is the shortened form of any initial, syllable or parts of a phrase or

words, an initialism(or less commonly, alphabetism) refers to an abbreviation formed from,and used simply as, a string of initials.[3]Although the term acronymis widely used to refer

to any abbreviation formed from initial letters,[4]some dictionaries define acronym to mean

"a word" in its original sense,[5][6][7]while some others include additional senses attributing to

acronymthe same meaning as that of initialism.[8][9][10][11]The distinction, when made, hinges

on whether the abbreviation is pronounced as a word, or as a string of letters. In such cases,

examples found in dictionaries include NATO /neto/,scuba /skub/,and radar /redr/

for acronyms, andFBI/fbia/andHTML/ettiml/for initialisms.[5][9][12]In the rest

of this article, this distinction is not made.

There is no agreement on what to call abbreviations whose pronunciation involves the

combination of letter names and words, such asJPEG/dep/andMS-DOS/msds/.

There is also some disagreement as to what to call abbreviations that some speakers

pronounce as letters and others pronounce as a word. For example, the terms URLandIRA

can be pronounced as individual letters:/ jurl/and/are/,respectively; or as a single

word: /rl/and /ar/,respectively. Such constructions, howeverregardless of how they

are pronouncedif formed from initials, may be identified as initialisms.

The spelled-out form of an acronym or initialism (that is, what it stands for) is called its

expansion.

Comparing a few examples of each type

Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters

o NATO:North Atlantic Treaty Organization

o Scuba:self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

o Laser:Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

Pronounced as a word, containing non-initial letters

o Amphetamine:alpha-methyl-phenethylamine

o Gestapo:Geheime Staatspolizei (secret state police)

o Interpol:International Criminal Police Organizationo Nabisco:National Biscuit Company

Pronounced as a word, containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters

o AIDS:acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

o Necco:New England Confectionery Company

o Radar:radio detection and ranging

Pronounced as a word or as a string of letters, depending on speaker or context

o FAQ:([fk] or ef-a-cue) frequently asked question

o IRA:When used forIndividual Retirement Account,can be pronounced as letters (i-

ar-a) or as a word *ar].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Paris_Gazette_and_Brockhaus_Handbuch-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Paris_Gazette_and_Brockhaus_Handbuch-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Paris_Gazette_and_Brockhaus_Handbuch-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-OEDinitialism-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-OEDinitialism-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-OEDinitialism-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-WDEU-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-WDEU-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-WDEU-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Oxford-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Oxford-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Cambridge-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Cambridge-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuba_divinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuba_divinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuba_divinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTMLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTMLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Oxford-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Oxford-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-OED-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-OED-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Engli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o SAT(s): ([st] or ess-a-tee) (previously) Scholastic Achievement (or Aptitude) Test(s)

(US) or Standard Assessment Test(s) (UK), now claimed not to stand for anything.[13]

o SQL:(*sikwl] or ess-cue-el) Structured Query Language.

Pronounced as a combination of spelling out and a word

o CD-ROM:(cee-dee-[rm]) Compact Disc read-only memoryo IUPAC:(i-u-[pk]) International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

o JPEG:(jay-[p]) Joint Photographic Experts Group

o SFMOMA:(ess-ef-[mom]) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Pronounced only as a string of letters

o BBC:British Broadcasting Corporation

o OEM:Original Equipment Manufacturer

o USA: The United States of America

Pronounced as a string of letters, but with a shortcut

o AAA: (triple A) American Automobile Association; abdominal aortic aneurysm;

anti-aircraft artillery;Asistencia, Asesora y Administracin

(three As)Amateur Athletic Association

o IEEE:(I triple E) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

o NAACP: (N double A C P) National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People

o NCAA:(N C double Aor N C two Aor N C A A) National Collegiate Athletic Association

Shortcut incorporated into name

o 3M:(three M) originally Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

o E3:(E three) Electronic Entertainment Expositiono W3C:(W three C) World Wide Web Consortium

o C4ISTAR: (C four I star) Command, Control, Communications, Computers,

Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance[14]

Multi-layered acronyms

o NAC Breda: (Dutch football club) NOAD ADVENDO Combinatie ("NOAD ADVENDO

Combination"), formed by the 1912 merger of two clubs, NOAD (Nooit Opgeven

Altijd Doorgaan "Never give up, always persevere") and ADVENDO (Aangenaam

Door Vermaak En Nuttig Door Ontspanning "Pleasant by entertainment and useful

by relaxation") from Breda[15][16]

o GAIM (former name of Pidgin):GTK+AOLInstant Messengero GIMP:GNU Image Manipulation Program

o VHDL: VHSIC hardware description language, where VHSIC stands for very-high-

speed integrated circuit.

Recursive acronyms,in which the abbreviation refers to itself

o GNU:GNU's not Unix!

o WINE:WINE Is Not an Emulator(originally, WINdows Emulator)

o PHP:PHP hypertext pre-processor(formerlypersonal home page)

o These may go through multiple layers before the self-reference is found:

HURD:HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons, where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of

interfaces representing depth"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAThttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAThttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-ROMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-ROMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUPAChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUPAChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Museum_of_Modern_Arthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Museum_of_Modern_Arthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Broadcasting_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Broadcasting_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OEMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OEMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Automobile_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Automobile_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_aortic_aneurysmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_aortic_aneurysmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aircraft_artilleryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aircraft_artilleryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asistencia,_Asesor%C3%ADa_y_Administraci%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asistencia,_Asesor%C3%ADa_y_Administraci%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asistencia,_Asesor%C3%ADa_y_Administraci%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3Mhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3Mhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Entertainment_Expohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Entertainment_Expohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W3Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W3Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4ISTARhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4ISTARhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAC_Bredahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAC_Bredahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin_%28software%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin_%28software%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK%2Bhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK%2Bhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHDLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHDLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHSIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHSIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNUhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNUhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_%28software%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_%28software%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Hurdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Hurdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Hurdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_%28software%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNUhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronymshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHSIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHDLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMPhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK%2Bhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin_%28software%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAC_Bredahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4ISTARhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W3Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Entertainment_Expohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3Mhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_Athletic_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asistencia,_Asesor%C3%ADa_y_Administraci%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aircraft_artilleryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_aortic_aneurysmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Automobile_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OEMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Broadcasting_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Museum_of_Modern_Arthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUPAChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-ROMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT


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Pseudo-acronyms,[citation needed][original research?]

which consist of a sequence of characters that,

when pronounced as intended, invoke other, longer words with less typing (see alsoInternet

slang)

o CQ:cee-cuefor "seek you", a code used by radio operators

o IOU:i-o-ufor "I owe you" (a true acronym would be IOY)

o K9:kay-ninefor "canine", used to designate police units utilizing dogso Q8:cue-eightfor "Kuwait"

Acronyms whose last abbreviated word is oftenredundantly includedanyway

o ATMmachine:Automated Teller Machinemachine

o HIVvirus: Human Immunodeficiency Virusvirus

o LCDdisplay: Liquid Crystal Displaydisplay

o PINnumber: Personal Identification Numbernumber

Historical and current use

Acronymy, likeretronymy,is a linguistic process that has existed throughout history but for

which there was little to no naming, conscious attention, or systematic analysis until

relatively recent times. Like retronymy, it became much more common in the 20th century

than it had formerly been.

Ancient examples of acronymy (regardless of whether there wasmetalanguageat the time to

describe it) include the following:

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 SPQR (Senatus

Populusque Romanus). Inscriptions dating from antiquity, both on stone and on coins, use a

lot of abbreviations and acronyms to save room and work. For example,Roman first names,

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 of", 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.

So calledNomina Sacrawere used in many Greek biblical manuscripts. The common words

"God" (), "Jesus" (), "Christ" (), 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 icons and the stamps used to mark the eucharistic bread in

eastern churches.

The early Christians in Rome, most of whom were Greek rather than Latin speakers, used the

image of a fish as a symbol forJesusin part because of an acronymfishin Greek is

(ichthys), which was said to stand for (Iesous CHristos

THeou hUios Soter: Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior). Evidence of this interpretation dates

from the 2nd and 3rd centuries and is preserved in the catacombs of Rome. And for

centuries, the Church has used the inscription INRIover the crucifix, which stands for the

Latin Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum("Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews").

The Hebrew language has a long history of formation of acronyms pronounced as words,

stretching back many centuries. The Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament") is known as "Tanakh",

an acronym composed from the Hebrew initial letters of its three major sections:Torah(five

books of Moses), Nevi'im (prophets), and K'tuvim (writings). Many rabbinical figures from

the Middle Ages onward are referred to in rabbinical literature by their pronounced
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CQ_%28call%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CQ_%28call%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOU_%28debt%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOU_%28debt%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K9_%28disambiguation%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K9_%28disambiguation%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_Syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_Syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_Syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_immunodeficiency_virushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_immunodeficiency_virushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Crystal_Displayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Crystal_Displayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identification_numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identification_numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praenomenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praenomenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praenomenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Sacrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Sacrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Sacrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INRIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INRIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevi%27imhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevi%27imhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevi%27imhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27tuvimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27tuvimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27tuvimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27tuvimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevi%27imhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INRIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Sacrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praenomenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retronymhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identification_numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Crystal_Displayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_immunodeficiency_virushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_Syndromehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K9_%28disambiguation%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOU_%28debt%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CQ_%28call%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed


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acronyms, such as Rambam (akaMaimonides,from the initial letters of his full Hebrew name

(Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) andRashi(Rabbi Shlomo Yitzkhaki).

During the mid- to late-19th century, an acronym-disseminating trend spread through the

American and European business communities: abbreviating corporation names in places

where space was limited for writingsuch as on the sides of railroad cars(e.g., Richmond,Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad RF&P); on the sides of barrels and crates; and on

ticker tape and in the small-print newspaper stock listings that got their data from it (e.g.,

American Telephone and Telegraph Company AT&T). Some well-known commercial

examples dating from the 1890s through 1920s include Nabisco (National Biscuit

Company),[17]Esso(from S.O., fromStandard Oil), andSunoco(Sun Oil Company).

Another driver for the adoption of acronyms was modern warfare with its many highly

technical terms. While there is no recorded use of military acronyms in documents dating

from theAmerican Civil War(acronyms such asANVfor "Army of Northern Virginia" post-

date the war itself), they had become somewhat common inWorld War Iand were very much

a part even of the vernacular language of the soldiers during World War II,[18] whothemselves were referred to asG.I.s.

The widespread, frequent use of acronyms across the whole range ofregistersis a relatively

new linguistic phenomenon in most languages, becoming increasingly evident since the mid-

20th century. As literacy rates rose, and as advances in science and technology brought with

them a constant stream of new (and sometimes more complex) terms and concepts, the

practice of abbreviating terms became increasingly convenient. The Oxford English

Dictionary(OED) records the first printed use of the word initialismas occurring in 1899, but

it did not come into general use until 1965, well after acronymhad become common.

By 1943, the term acronym had been used in English to recognize abbreviations (and

contractions of phrases) that were pronounced as words.[17] (It was formed from the Greek

words , akros, "topmost, extreme" and , onoma, "name.") For example, the army

offense of being absent without official leavewas abbreviated to "A.W.O.L."in reports, but

when pronounced as a word ('awol'), it became an acronym.[19] While initial letters are

commonly used to form an acronym, the original definition was a word made from the initial

letters or syllables of other words,[20] for example UNIVAC from UNIVersal Automatic

Computer.[21]

In English, acronyms pronounced as words may be a 20th-century phenomenon. Linguist

David Wilton in Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends claims that "formingwords 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 colinderiesor colinda, an acronym

for the Colonial and Indian Exposition held in London in that year."[22][23]However, although

acronymic words seem not to have been employed in general vocabulary before the 20th

century (as Wilton points out), the concept of their formation is treated as effortlessly

understood (and evidently not novel) in a Poe story of the 1830s, "How to Write a Blackwood

Article", which includes the contrived acronym P.R.E.T.T.Y.B.L.U.E.B.A.T.C.H.

Early examples in English
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonideshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonideshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonideshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_carhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_carhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticker_tapehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticker_tapehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabiscohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabiscohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunocohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunocohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunocohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Northern_Virginiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Northern_Virginiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Northern_Virginiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._%28military%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._%28military%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._%28military%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_%28sociolinguistics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_%28sociolinguistics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_%28sociolinguistics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Wilton-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Wilton-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Wilton-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Predicament#How_to_Write_a_Blackwood_Articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Predicament#How_to_Write_a_Blackwood_Articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Predicament#How_to_Write_a_Blackwood_Articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Predicament#How_to_Write_a_Blackwood_Articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Predicament#How_to_Write_a_Blackwood_Articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Wilton-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Wilton-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_%28sociolinguistics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._%28military%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Northern_Virginiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunocohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#cite_note-Davenport-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabiscohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticker_tapehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_carhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides


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The use of Latin and Neo-Latin terms in vernacularshas been pan-European and predates

modern English. Some examples of acronyms in this class are:

o A.M.(from Latin ante meridiem, "before noon") andP.M.(from Latinpost meridiem,

"after noon")

o A.D. (from Latin Anno Domini, "in the year of our Lord") (whose complement in

English, B.C.[Before Christ], is English-sourced) O.K., a term of disputed origin, dating back

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