With a title like that, I'm likely the only one reading this serious stuff --no kidding. This is more complicated than I first thot, and I'm challenged to be brief while satisfyg my hungr & thirst for knowledge. (O boy.) Looks like this will take more than 1 LFF post to properly addr. the subject. Being in the lang. business, I'm intrigued. (Anyone still w/me?)
I'm on a short lunch brk in my ofc, so I will rely on what seems to be a good source: YourDictionary.com It just taught me re. initialism (I didn’t know that), and acronym and abbrev.
ini·tial·ism / noun /
"an acronym or abbreviation formed from initial letters, specif., one pronounced using the letters' names rather than phonetically (Ex.: CD, DNA, ...)"
YourDictionary explains: “When you shorten a word or phrase, you make an abbreviation. For example, these are abbreviations: NV for Nevada, tsp. for teaspoon, … NBC for the National Broadcasting Company, and radar for radio detecting and ranging. Taking the first letter of the main words in a phrase makes an initialism. Examples are: PIN for Personal Identification Number, ... and UPC for Universal Product Code.”
[As anyone smart enough to read blogs can plainly see, the phrases "PIN number" and "UPC code" have a problem with redundancy, which often bothers me. (I may be the only one losing sleep over redundancy.) It's like defeating the purpose of abbrev.! (jk) (And you're s'posed to be LOL.)]
YourDictionary further explains: “Acronyms are both abbreviations and initialisms. They are a very special kind of initialism, because they form a word. Here are the definitions of some of them: scuba for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, … and OPEC for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.”
“To sum up, initialisms and acronyms are abbreviations …”
Watch for the exciting (jk) sequel titled "Backronyms"
(acronyms built restrospectively to match a word).
Sneak-prevw examples from YD:
DOG: Dutifully On Guard
ITALY: I Trust And Love You
Yes, I do, and hope you enjoyed a fast lunch brk as much as I did.
