Steve
If you think acronym is an acronym, have another think coming: it is of
pure Greek origin. Your "explanation" possibly has a name, but I don't
know it. The following are cut and pasted from the electronic Oxford
dictionary:
acronym // n.
a word, usu. pronounced as such, formed from the initial letters of
other words (e.g. Ernie, laser, Nato).
[Greek akron ‘end’ + onuma = onoma ‘name’]
abbreviation / / n.
1 an abbreviated form, esp. a shortened form of a word or phrase.
2 the process or result of abbreviating.
[Middle English via Late Latin abbreviare ‘shorten’ from Latin brevis
‘short’: cf. abridge]
I bring to your attention the essential difference between these. If you
pronounce an abbreviation as a word and not letters, then - and only
then - it is an acronym. Thus, for example, DFM is an abbreviation and
not an acronym, because your say it 'dee-eff-emm'. Laser (Light
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is an acronym,
because it is usually pronounced 'layzer' and not 'ell-ay-ess-ee-are',
which it would be, were it a simple abbreviation.
What does 'Steve' mean? Some Times Even Very Eloquent?
Here endeth the first lesson.
Brian
"Stephen R. Gregory" wrote:
>
> > O.K. Rick.....What does TANSTAAFL mean?
>
> Hey all!
>
> Sitting here eating lunch, I found this:
>
> http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/abbrev.html
>
> It's got just about every acronym defined that you could think of there, all
> in alphabetical order...in fact, did you know that acronym is a acronym?
>
> ACRONYM = Abbreviated Coded Rendition Of Name Yielding Meaning
>
> There was some pretty good ones there...I was ROTFLMAAOBPO!!!
>
> PCMCIA,
>
> -Steve Gregory-
>
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