Contents

English

Etymology

acro- + -onym c. 1943

Pronunciation

Noun

Singular acronym

Plural acronyms

acronym (plural acronyms)

  1. An abbreviation formed by (usually initial) letters taken from a word or series of words, and which is itself pronounced as a word, such as RAM, radar, or scuba; sometimes contrasted with initialism.
  2. A pronounceable word formed from the beginnings (letter or syllable) of other words and thus representing the phrase so formed, e.g. Benelux = the countries Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg considered as a political or economic whole.
  3. Any abbreviation so formed, regardless of pronunciation, such as TNT, IBM, or XML.

Usage notes

References

  1. ^ American Speech Vol. 18, No. 2. (Apr., 1943), page 142

See also

 

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