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An acronym is a
word
A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...
or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as in ''
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
'' (short for ''Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg''). They can also be a mixture, as in ''
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
'' (''Radio Detection And Ranging'').
Acronyms can be pronounced as words, like ''
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
'' and ''
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
''; as individual letters, like
''FBI'', ''
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
'', and
''ATM''; or as both letters and words, like ''
JPEG'' (pronounced ') and
''IUPAC''. Some are not universally pronounced one way or the other and it depends on the speaker's preference or the context in which it is being used, such as ''
SQL'' (either "sequel" or "ess-cue-el").
The broader sense of ''acronym''—the meaning of which includes terms pronounced as letters—is sometimes criticized, but it is the term's original meaning
and is in common use.
[ ] Dictionary and style-guide editors are not in universal agreement on the naming for such
abbreviations
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
, and it is a matter of some dispute whether the term ''acronym'' can be legitimately applied to abbreviations which are not pronounced "as words", nor do these language authorities agree on the correct use of
spacing
Spacing may refer to:
* ''Spacing'' (magazine), a Canadian magazine
* Spacing effect in psychology; the opposite of cramming
* The usage of spaces in typography
** Letter-spacing, the amount of space between a group of letters
** Line spacing or ...
,
casing, and
punctuation
Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. An ...
.
Abbreviations formed from a string of
initial
In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...
s and usually pronounced as individual letters are sometimes more specifically called initialisms
or alphabetisms; examples are ''FBI'' from ''
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
'', and ''e.g.'' from Latin .
Etymology
The word ''acronym'' is formed from the
Greek root
The English language uses many Greek and Latin roots, stems, and prefixes. These roots are listed alphabetically on three pages:
* Greek and Latin roots from A to G
* Greek and Latin roots from H to O
* Greek and Latin roots from P to Z.
Some ...
s ''acr-'', meaning "height, summit, or tip" and ''-onym'', meaning "name".
This
neoclassical compound
Neoclassical compounds are compound words composed from combining forms (which act as affixes or stems) derived from classical Latin or ancient Greek roots. New Latin comprises many such words and is a substantial component of the technical and ...
appears to have originated in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, with attestations for the German form ' appearing as early as 1921.
Citations in English date to a 1940 translation of a novel by the German writer
Lion Feuchtwanger
Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht.
Feuchtwanger's J ...
.
Nomenclature
Whereas an
abbreviation may be any type of shortened form, such as words with the middle omitted (for example, ''Rd'' for ''Road'' or ''Dr'' for ''
Doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
'') or the end truncated (as in ''Prof.'' for ''Professor''), an acronym is—in the broad sense—formed from the first letter or first few letters of each important word in a phrase (such as ''
AIDS'', from ''acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome'', and ''
scuba
Scuba may refer to:
* Scuba diving
** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving
* Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook
* Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
'' from ''self-contained underwater breathing apparatus'').
However, this is only a loose rule of thumb, as some acronyms are built in part from the first letters of
morpheme
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology.
In English, morphemes are often but not necessarily words. Morphemes that stand alone are ...
s (word components; as in the ''i'' and ''d'' in ''immuno-deficiency'') or using a letter from the middle or end of a word, or from only a few key words in a long phrase or name. Less significant words such as ''in'', ''of'', and ''the'' are usually dropped (''NYT'' for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', ''DMV'' for ''
Department of Motor Vehicles''), but not always (''TICA'' for ''
The International Cat Association
The International Cat Association (TICA) is considered the world's largest genetic cat registry. Originally a North American organization, it now has a worldwide presence. The organization has a genetic registry for pedigreed and household pet ca ...
'', ''DOJ'' for ''
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
'').
Abbreviations formed from a string of initials and usually pronounced as individual letters (as in ''FBI'' from ''
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
'', and ''e.g.'' from Latin ) are sometimes more specifically called
initialisms
or
alphabetism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
s. Occasionally, some letter other than the first is chosen, most often when the pronunciation of the name of the letter coincides with the pronunciation of the beginning of the word (example: ''BX'' from ''
base exchange
An exchange is a type of retail store found on United States military installations worldwide. Originally akin to trading posts, they now resemble contemporary department stores or strip malls. Exact terminology varies by armed service; some examp ...
''). Acronyms that are usually pronounced as words, such as ''AIDS'' and ''scuba'', are sometimes called word acronyms, to disambiguate them more clearly from initialisms, especially since some users of the term "initialism" use "acronym" in a narrow sense meaning only the type sounded out as letters. Another sub-type of acronym (or a related form, depending upon one's definitions) is the
syllabic abbreviation, which is composed specifically of multi-letter
syllabic
Syllabic may refer to:
*Syllable, a unit of speech sound, considered the building block of words
**Syllabic consonant, a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable
*Syllabary, writing system using symbols for syllables
*Abugida, writing system ...
(even multi-syllabic) fragments of the abbreviated words; some examples are ''
FOREX
The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...
'' from ''foreign exchange'', and ''
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
'' from ''international'' + ''police'', though its full proper name in English is the International Criminal Police Organization. Usually the first syllable (or two) is used from each major component word, but there are exceptions, such as the US Navy term ''DESRON'' or ''DesRon'' from ''destroyer squadron''.
There is no special term for abbreviations whose pronunciation involves the combination of letter names with words, or with word-like pronunciations of strings of letters, such as ''
JPEG'' () and ''
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
'' (). Similarly, there is no unique name for those that are a mixture of syllabic abbreviations and initialisms; these are usually pronounced as words (e.g., ''
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
'' from ''radio detection and ranging'', consisting of one syllabic abbreviation and three single letters, and ''
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...
'' from ''sound navigation ranging'', consisting of two syllabic abbreviations followed by a single acronymic letter for ''ranging''); these would generally qualify as word acronyms among those who use that term. There is also some disagreement as to what to call an abbreviation that some speakers pronounce as letters but others pronounce as a word. For example, the terms ''
URL'' and ''IRA'' (for ''
individual retirement account
An individual retirement account (IRA) in the United States is a form of pension provided by many financial institutions that provides tax advantages for retirement savings. It is a trust that holds investment assets purchased with a taxpayer's e ...
'') can be pronounced as individual letters: and , respectively; or as a single word: and , respectively. The same character string may be pronounced differently when the meaning is different; ''IRA'' is always sounded out as ''I-R-A'' when standing for ''
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
''.
The spelled-out form of an acronym, initialism, or syllabic abbreviation (that is, what that abbreviation stands for) is called its ''expansion''.
Lexicography and style guides
It is an unsettled question in English
lexicography
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoreti ...
and
style guides whether it is legitimate to use the word ''acronym'' to describe forms that use initials but are not pronounced as a word. While there is plenty of evidence that ''acronym'' is used widely in this way, some sources do not acknowledge this usage, reserving the term ''acronym'' only for forms pronounced as a word, and using ''initialism'' or ''abbreviation'' for those that are not. Some sources acknowledge the usage, but vary in whether they criticize or forbid it, allow it without comment, or explicitly advocate for it.
Some mainstream English dictionaries from across the English-speaking world affirm a
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...
of ''acronym'' which does not require being pronounced as a word. American English dictionaries such as ''
Merriam-Webster'',
[ ] Dictionary.com's ''
Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary'' is a large American dictionary, first published in 1966 as ''The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: The Unabridged Edition''. Edited by Editor-in-chief Jess Stein, it contained 315, ...
''
and the ''
American Heritage Dictionary
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
''
as well as the British ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
''
[
] and the Australian ''
Macquarie Dictionary
The ''Macquarie Dictionary'' () is a dictionary of Australian English. It is generally considered by universities and the legal profession to be the authoritative source on Australian English. It also pays considerable attention to New Zealand ...
''
all include a sense in their entries for ''acronym'' equating it with ''initialism'', although ''The American Heritage Dictionary'' criticizes it with the label "usage problem".
However, many English language dictionaries, such as the
''
Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary
The ''Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary'' (''CCAD'') from HarperCollins, first published in 1987, is a dictionary that distinguished itself by providing definitions in full sentences, rather than excerpted phrases. Example sentences are given f ...
'',
''
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
The ''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'' (abbreviated ''CALD'') was first published in 1995 under the name ''Cambridge International Dictionary of English'', by the Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the ...
'',
''
Macmillan Dictionary
''Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners'', also known as ''MEDAL'', was first published in 2002 by Macmillan Education. ''MEDAL'' is an advanced learner’s dictionary and shares most of the features of this type of dictionary: it pro ...
'',
''
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The ''Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English'' (''LDOCE''), first published by Longman in 1978, is an advanced learner's dictionary, providing definitions using a restricted vocabulary, helping non-native English speakers understand meanin ...
'',
''
New Oxford American Dictionary
The ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' (''NOAD'') is a single-volume dictionary of American English compiled by American editors at the Oxford University Press.
''NOAD'' is based upon the ''New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''NODE''), published ...
'',
''
Webster's New World Dictionary
''Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language'' is an American dictionary first published in 1951 and since 2022 published by Harper Collins Publishers.
Overview
The first edition was published by the World Publishing Company of Cl ...
'',
and ''
Lexico'' from Oxford University Press
do not acknowledge such a sense.
Most of the dictionary entries and style guide recommendations regarding the term ''acronym'' through the twentieth century did not explicitly acknowledge or support the expansive sense. The
Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage
''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage'' is a usage dictionary published by Merriam-Webster, Inc., of Springfield, Massachusetts . It is currently available in a reprint edition (1994) or . (The 1989 edition did not include ''Merriam-'' ...
from 1994 is one of the earliest publications to advocate for the expansive sense,
[Merriam-Webster, Inc. ''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage'', 1994. . pp. 21–22:
] and all the major dictionary editions that include a sense of ''acronym'' equating it with ''initialism'' were first published in the twenty-first century. The trend among dictionary editors appears to be towards including a sense defining ''acronym'' as ''initialism'': The ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'' added such a sense in its eleventh edition in 2003,
and both the ''Oxford English Dictionary''
and the ''American Heritage Dictionary''
added such senses in their 2011 editions. The 1989 edition of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' only included the exclusive sense for ''acronym'' and its earliest citation was from 1943.
In early December 2010,
Duke University researcher Stephen Goranson published a citation for ''acronym'' to the
American Dialect Society
The American Dialect Society (ADS), founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society ...
e-mail discussion list which refers to ''PGN'' being pronounced "pee-gee-enn,"
antedating Antedating may refer to:
* Antedating (lexicography), finding attested use of a word or phrase earlier than the previous earliest known use
* Antedated contract, takes effect earlier than its signing date
* Antedated cheque, dated earlier than its ...
English language usage of the word to 1940. Linguist
Ben Zimmer
Benjamin Zimmer (born 1971) is an American linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator. He is a language columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributing editor for ''The Atlantic''. He was formerly a language columnist for ''The ...
then mentioned this citation in his December 16, 2010 "
On Language
''On Language'' was a regular column in the weekly '' New York Times Magazine'' on the English language discussing popular etymology, new or unusual usages, and other language-related topics. The inaugural column was published on February 18, 19 ...
" column about acronyms in
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
. By 2011, the publication of the third edition of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' added the expansive sense to its entry for ''acronym'' and included the 1940 citation.
As the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' structures the senses in order of chronological development, it now gives the "initialism" sense first.
English language usage and style guides which have entries for ''acronym'' generally criticize the usage that refers to forms that are not pronounceable words. ''
Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage
''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (1926), by Henry Watson Fowler (1858–1933), is a style guide to British English usage, pronunciation, and writing. Covering topics such as plurals and literary technique, distinctions among like words ...
'' says that ''acronym'' "denotes abbreviations formed from initial letters of other words and pronounced as a single word, such as ''NATO'' (as distinct from ''B-B-C'')" but adds later "In everyday use, ''acronym'' is often applied to abbreviations that are technically initialisms, since they are pronounced as separate letters."
The
Chicago Manual of Style acknowledges the complexity ("Furthermore, an acronym and initialism are occasionally combined (JPEG), and the line between initialism and acronym is not always clear") but still defines the terms as mutually exclusive.
Other guides outright deny any legitimacy to the usage: ''
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words
''Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words'' () is a book by Bill Bryson, published under several titles since 1984, that catalogues some of the English language's most commonly misused words and phrases in order to demonstrate preferable usage. ...
'' says "Abbreviations that are not pronounced as words (IBM, ABC, NFL) are not acronyms; they are just abbreviations."
''
Garner's Modern American Usage
''Garner's Modern English Usage'' (''GMEU''), written by Bryan A. Garner and published by Oxford University Press, is a usage dictionary and style guide (or ' prescriptive dictionary') for contemporary Modern English. It was first published in 1 ...
'' says "An acronym is made from the first letters or parts of a compound term. It's read or spoken as a single word, not letter by letter."
''
The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
''The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper'' is a style guide first published in 1950 by editors at the newspaper and revised in 1974, 1999 ...
'' says "Unless pronounced as a word, an abbreviation is not an acronym."
In contrast, some style guides do support it, whether explicitly or implicitly. The 1994 edition of ''
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage'' defends the usage on the basis of a claim that dictionaries do not make a distinction.
The
BuzzFeed style guide describes CBS and PBS as "acronyms ending in S".
Comparing a few examples of each type
*Pronounced as a word, containing ''only'' initial letters
**
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
: "North Atlantic Treaty Organization"
**
Scuba
Scuba may refer to:
* Scuba diving
** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving
* Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook
* Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
: "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus"
**
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...
: "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"
**
GIF: "graphics interchange format"
*Pronounced as a word, containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters
**
Amphetamine: "alpha-methyl-phenethylamine"
**''
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
'': ' (secret state police)
**
Radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
: "radio detection and ranging"
*Pronounced as a combination of spelling out and a word
**
CD-ROM: (''cee-dee-'') "compact disc read-only memory"
**
IUPAC
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
: (''i-u-'' or ''i-u-pee-a-cee'') "International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry"
**
JPEG: (''jay-'' or ''jay-pee-e-gee'') "Joint Photographic Experts Group"
**
SFMOMA: (''ess-ef-'' or ''ess-ef-em-o-em-a'') "San Francisco Museum of Modern Art"
*Pronounced only as a string of letters
**
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
: "British Broadcasting Corporation"
**
OEM
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
: "original equipment manufacturer"
**
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
: "United States of America"
**
VHF: "very high frequency"
*Pronounced as a string of letters, but with a shortcut
**AAA:
***(''Triple-A'') "
American Automobile Association"; "
abdominal aortic aneurysm
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta such that the diameter is greater than 3 cm or more than 50% larger than normal. They usually cause no symptoms, except during rupture. Occasionally, abdominal, ...
"; "
anti-aircraft artillery"; "
Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración"
***(''Three-As'') "
Amateur Athletic Association"
**
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
: (''I triple-E'') "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"
**
NAACP: (''N double-A C P'' or ''N A A C P'') "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"
**
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
: (''N C double-A'' or ''N C two-A'' or ''N C A A'') "National Collegiate Athletic Association"
*Shortcut incorporated into name
**
3M: (''three M'') originally "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company"
**
W3C
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 and led by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations that maintain full-time staff working to ...
: (''W-three C'') "World Wide Web Consortium"
**
A2DP: (''A-two D P'') "Advanced Audio Distribution Profile"
**
C4ISTAR: (''C-four Istar'') "Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance"
*Mnemonic acronyms, an abbreviation that is used to remember
phrase
In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...
s or
principles
**
KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
(Kiss) "Keep it simple, stupid", a design principle preferring simplicity
**
SMART
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* '' SMart'', a children's television se ...
(Smart) "Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related", A principle of setting of goals and objectives
**
FAST (Fast) "Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, Time", helps detect and enhance responsiveness to the needs of a person having a
stroke
**
DRY (Dry) "Don't repeat yourself", A principle of software development aimed at reducing repetition of software patterns
*Multi-layered acronyms
**
AIM: "AOL Instant Messenger," in which "
AOL" originally stood for "America Online"
**
AFTA: "ASEAN Free Trade Area," where
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
stands for "Association of Southeast Asian Nations"
**
NAC Breda: (Dutch football club) "NOAD ADVENDO Combinatie" ("NOAD ADVENDO Combination"), formed by the 1912 merger of two clubs from Breda:
***NOAD: (' "Never give up, always persevere")
***ADVENDO: (' "Pleasant by entertainment and useful by relaxation")
**
GIMP: "
GNU
GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...
image manipulation program"
*
Recursive acronyms, in which the abbreviation
refers to itself
**
GNU
GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...
: "GNU's not Unix!"
**
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
: "Wine is not an emulator" (originally, "Windows emulator")
**TLA: Three Lettered Acronyms
**These may go through multiple layers before the self-reference is found:
***
HURD
GNU Hurd is a collection of microkernel servers written as part of GNU, for the GNU Mach microkernel. It has been under development since 1990 by the GNU Project of the Free Software Foundation, designed as a replacement for the Unix kernel, an ...
: "HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons," where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of interfaces representing depth"
*Pseudo-acronyms, which consist of a sequence of characters that, when pronounced as intended, invoke other, longer words with less typing This makes them
gramogram A gramogram, grammagram, or letteral word is a letter or group of letters which can be pronounced to form one or more words, as in "CU" for "see you". They are a subset of rebuses, and are commonly used as abbreviations.
They are sometimes used as ...
s.
**
CQ: ''cee-cue'' for "seek you", a code used by radio operators
**
IOU: ''i-o-u'' for "I owe you"
**
K9: ''kay-nine'' for "canine," used to designate police units utilizing dogs
*Abbreviations whose last abbreviated word is often
redundantly included anyway
**
ATM machine: "automated teller machine" (machine)
**
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
virus: "human immunodeficiency virus" (virus)
**
LCD display: "liquid-crystal display" (display)
**
PIN
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch ...
number: "personal identification number" (number)
*Pronounced as a word, containing letters as a word in itself
**
PAYGO: "pay-as-you-go"
Historical and current use
Acronymy, like
retronym
A retronym is a newer name for an existing thing that helps differentiate the original form/version from a more recent one. It is thus a word or phrase created to avoid confusion between older and newer types, whereas previously (before there were ...
y, is a linguistic process that has existed throughout history but for which there was little to no
naming
Naming is assigning a name to something.
Naming may refer to:
* Naming (parliamentary procedure), a procedure in certain parliamentary bodies
* Naming ceremony, an event at which an infant is named
* Product naming, the discipline of deciding wh ...
, 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 (before the term "acronym" was invented) 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
SPQR, an abbreviation for (; en, "The Roman Senate and People"; or more freely "The Senate and People of Rome"), is an emblematic abbreviated phrase referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic. It appears on Roman currency, at t ...
'' ('). Inscriptions dating from antiquity, both on stone and on coins, use many abbreviations and acronyms to save space 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 ', meaning "son", 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-called ' (sacred names) were 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
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
s and the stamps used to mark the eucharistic bread in
Eastern Churches
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
.
* The early Christians in Rome, most of whom were Greek rather than Latin speakers, used the image of a fish as a symbol for
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
in part because of an acronym (or
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
): "fish" in Greek is ' (), which was construed to stand for (': "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior"). This interpretation dates from the 2nd and 3rd centuries and is preserved in the
catacombs of Rome. Another ancient acronym for Jesus is the inscription ''
INRI
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as '' Basileus ton Ioudaion'' ().
Both uses of t ...
'' over the crucifix, for the Latin ' ("Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews").
* The Hebrew language has a centuries-long history of acronyms pronounced as words. The Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament") is known as "
Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
" (five books of Moses), "
Nevi'im
Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the '' Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim ( ...
" (prophets), and "
K'tuvim" (writings). Many rabbinical figures from the Middle Ages onward are referred to in rabbinical literature by their pronounced acronyms, such as
Rambam
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah s ...
and
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
from the initial letters of their full Hebrew names: "Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon" and "Rabbi Shlomo Yitzkhaki".
During the mid- to late 19th century, acronyms became a trend among American and European businessmen: abbreviating
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
names, such 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
Ticker tape was the earliest electrical dedicated financial communications medium, transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines, in use from around 1870 through 1970. It consisted of a paper strip that ran through a machine called ...
and newspaper stock listings (e.g. American Telephone and Telegraph Company → AT&T). Some well-known commercial examples dating from the 1890s through 1920s include "
Nabisco
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco's ...
" ("National Biscuit Company"),
[B. Davenport ''American Notes and Queries'' (February 1943) vol 2 page 167 "Your correspondent who asks about words made up of the initial letters or syllables of other words may be interested in knowing that I have seen such words called by the name ''acronym'', which is useful and clear to anyone who knows a little Greek."] "
Esso" (from "S.O.", from "
Standard Oil"), and "
Sunoco" ("Sun Oil Company").
Another field for the adoption of acronyms was modern warfare, with its many highly technical terms. While there is no recorded use of military acronyms dating from the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(acronyms such as "
ANV" for "Army of Northern Virginia" postdate the war itself), they became somewhat common in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
they were widespread even in the slang of soldiers, who referred to themselves as
G.I.
G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...
s.
The widespread, frequent use of acronyms across the whole range of linguistic
registers is relatively new in most languages, becoming increasingly evident since the mid-20th century. As literacy spread and technology produced a constant stream of new and complex terms, abbreviations became increasingly convenient. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' (''OED'') records the first printed use of the word ''initialism'' as occurring in 1899, but it did not come into general use until 1965, well after ''acronym'' had become common.
In English, acronyms may be a 20th-century phenomenon. Linguist David Wilton in ''Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends'' claims that "forming words from acronyms is a distinctly twentieth- (and now twenty-first-) century phenomenon. There is only one known pre-twentieth-century
nglishword with an acronymic origin and it was in vogue for only a short time in 1886. The word is ''colinderies'' or ''colinda'', an acronym for the
Colonial and Indian Exposition held in London in that year."
However, although acronymic words seem not to have been before the 20th century (as Wilton points out), the is treated as effortlessly understood (and evidently not novel) in an
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
story of the 1830s, "
How to Write a Blackwood Article
"A Predicament" is a humorous short story by Edgar Allan Poe, usually combined with its companion piece "How to Write a Blackwood Article". It was originally titled "The Scythe of Time". The paired stories parody the Gothic sensation tale, popula ...
", which includes the contrived acronym "P.R.E.T.T.Y.B.L.U.E.B.A.T.C.H."
Early examples in English
The use of Latin and Neo-Latin terms in
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
s has been pan-European and predates modern English. Some examples of acronyms in this class are:
*''
A.M.'' (from Latin ', "before noon") and ''
P.M.'' (from Latin ', "after noon")
*''A.D.'' (from Latin ', "in the year of our Lord"), whose complement in English, ''B.C.''
Before_Christ">/nowiki>Before_Christ">/nowiki>Before_Christ">Before_Christ.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Before_Christ">/nowiki>Before_Christ/nowiki>,_is_English-sourced
The_earliest_example_of_a_word_derived_from_an_acronym_listed_by_the_''Oxford_English_Dictionary.html" "title="Before_Christ.html" ;"title="Before_Christ.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Before Christ">/nowiki>Before Christ">Before_Christ.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Before Christ">/nowiki>Before Christ/nowiki>, is English-sourced
The earliest example of a word derived from an acronym listed by the ''Oxford English Dictionary">OED
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' is "abjud" (now "abjad"), formed from the original first four letters of the Arabic alphabet in the late 18th century. Some acrostics predate this, however, such as the English Restoration, Restoration witticism arranging the names of some members of Charles II's Committee for Foreign Affairs to produce the "CABAL" ministry.
'' O.K.'', a term of disputed origin, dates back at least to the early 19th century and is now used around the world.
Current use
Acronyms are used most often to abbreviate names of organizations and long or frequently referenced terms. The armed forces and government agencies frequently employ acronyms; some well-known examples from the United States are among the " alphabet agencies" (jokingly referred to as " alphabet soup") created under the New Deal by Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
(himself known as "FDR"). Business and industry also coin acronyms prolificly. The rapid advance of science and technology also drives the usage, as new inventions and concepts with multiword names create a demand for shorter, more pronounceable names. One representative example, from the U.S. Navy, is "COMCRUDESPAC", which stands for "commander, cruisers destroyers Pacific"; it is also seen as "ComCruDesPac". Inventors are encouraged to anticipate the formation of acronyms by making new terms "YABA-compatible" ("yet another bloody acronym"), meaning the term's acronym can be pronounced and is not an offensive word: "When choosing a new name, be sure it is 'YABA-compatible'."
Acronym use has been further popularized by text messaging on mobile phones with short message service (SMS), and instant messenger
Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and tri ...
(IM). To fit messages into the 160-character SMS limit, and to save time, acronyms such as "GF" ("girlfriend"), "LOL" ("laughing out loud"), and "DL" ("download" or "down low") have become popular. Some prescriptivist
Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes infor ...
s disdain texting acronyms and abbreviations as decreasing clarity, or as failure to use "pure" or "proper" English. Others point out that languages have always continually changed, and argue that acronyms should be embraced as inevitable, or as innovation that adapts the language to changing circumstances. In this view, the modern practice is just the "proper" English of the current generation of speakers, much like the earlier abbreviation of corporation names on ticker tape or newspapers.
Exact pronunciation of "word acronyms" (those pronounced as words rather than sounded out as individual letters) often vary by speaker population. These may be regional, occupational, or generational differences, or simply personal preference. For instance, there have been decades of online debate about how to pronounce GIF ( or ) and BIOS (, , or ). Similarly, some letter-by-letter initialisms may become word acronyms over time, especially in combining forms: ''IP'' for ''Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
...
'' is generally said as two letters, but ''IPsec
In computing, Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is a secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts packets of data to provide secure encrypted communication between two computers over an Internet Protocol network. It is used in ...
'' for ''Internet Protocol Security'' is usually pronounced as or , along with variant capitalization like "IPSEC" and "Ipsec". Pronunciation may even vary within a single speaker's vocabulary, depending on narrow contexts. As an example, the database programming language SQL is usually said as three letters, but in reference to Microsoft's implementation is traditionally pronounced like the word ''sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
''.
Expansion at first use
In writing for a broad audience, the words of an acronym are typically written out in full at its first occurrence within a given text. EAFU (Expansion At First Use) benefits readers unfamiliar with the acronym.
Another text aid is an abbreviation key which lists and expands all acronyms used, a reference for readers who skipped past the first use. (This is especially important for paper media, where no search utility is available to find the first use.) It also gives students a convenient review list to memorize the important acronyms introduced in a textbook chapter.
Expansion at first use and abbreviation keys originated in the print era, but they are equally useful for electronic text.
Jargon
While acronyms provide convenience and succinctness for specialists, they often degenerate into confusing jargon
Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...
. This may be intentional, to exclude readers without domain-specific knowledge. New acronyms may also confuse when they coincide with an already existing acronym having a different meaning.
Medical literature has been struggling to control the proliferation of acronyms, including efforts by the American Academy of Dermatology.
As mnemonics
Acronyms are often taught as mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
devices: for example the colors of the rainbow are ROY G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). They are also used as mental checklists: in aviation GUMPS
GUMPS is an acronym widely used by retractable gear aircraft pilots as a mental checklist to ensure nothing critical has been forgotten before landing. Its popularity is widespread, appearing in flight student curricula, FAA publications and avi ...
stands for gas-undercarriage-mixture-propeller-seatbelts. Other mnemonic acronyms include CAN SLIM CAN SLIM refers to the acronym developed by the American stock research and education company ''Investor's Business Daily'' (''IBD''). ''IBD'' claims CANSLIM represents the seven characteristics that top-performing stocks often share before making ...
in finance, PAVPANIC in English grammar, and PEMDAS in mathematics.
Acronyms as legendary etymology
It is not uncommon for acronyms to be cited in a kind of false etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
, called a folk etymology, for a word. Such etymologies persist in popular culture but have no factual basis in historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include:
# to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages
# ...
, and are examples of language-related urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
s. For example, " cop" is commonly cited as being derived, it is presumed, from "constable on patrol", and "posh
Posh is an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen
*" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''
* ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Philip ...
" from " port outward, starboard home".[; published in the US as
] With some of these specious expansions, the "belief" that the etymology is acronymic has clearly been tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...
among many citers, as with "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden" for "golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
", although many other (more credulous) people have uncritically taken it for fact. Taboo word
Word taboo, also called taboo language, language taboo or linguistic taboo is a kind of taboo that involves restricting the use of words or other parts of language due to social constraints. This may be due to a taboo on specific parts of the langu ...
s in particular commonly have such false etymologies: " shit" from "ship/store high in transit" or "special high-intensity training" and " fuck" from "for unlawful carnal knowledge", or "fornication under consent/command of the king".
Orthographic styling
Punctuation
Showing the ellipsis of letters
In English, abbreviations have traditionally been written with a full stop/period/point in place of the deleted part to show the ellipsis
The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...
of letters – although the colon and apostrophe have also had this role – and with a space after full stops (e.g. "A. D."). In the case of most acronyms, each letter is an abbreviation of a separate word and, in theory, should get its own termination mark. Such punctuation is diminishing with the belief that the presence of all-capital letters is sufficient to indicate that the word is an abbreviation.
=Ellipsis-is-understood style
=
Some influential style guides, such as that of the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, no longer require punctuation to show