Acronym vs. Anacronym

Acronymnoun

An abbreviation formed by the initial letters of other words, sometimes exclusively such abbreviations when pronounced as a word (as "laser") rather than as individual letters (initialisms such as "TNT").

Acronymnoun

An abbreviation formed by the beginning letters or syllables of other words (as "Benelux").

Acronymverb

To form into an acronym

Acronymnoun

a word formed from the initial letters of a multi-word name

Acronymnoun

an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g. ASCII, NASA).

Acronym

An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase, usually using individual initial letters, as in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or EU (European Union), but sometimes using syllables, as in Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), or a mixture of the two, as in radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging). Similarly, acronyms are sometimes pronounced as words, as in NASA or UNESCO, sometimes as the individual letters, as in FBI or ATM, or a mixture of the two, as in JPEG or IUPAC. The broader sense of acronym inclusive of terms pronounced as the individual letters (such as ) is sometimes criticized, but it is the term's original meaning and is in common use.

Anacronymnoun

An acronym the original meaning of which is not known to most speakers.

Anacronymnoun

an acronym of which the constituent letters are taken from words that are unfamiliar to most people (e.g. Nicam, scuba).