acronym
UK /ˈækɹənɪm/ · US /ˈækɹəˌnɪm/ noun, verb
Forms acronyms acronyming acronymming acronymed acronymmed
- noun Generally such abbreviations, including those pronounced as individual letters (initialisms such as "TNT").
- noun Exclusively such abbreviations when pronounced as a word (as "laser" or "NATO").
- noun (linguistics) An abbreviation formed by the beginning letters or syllables of other words; this sense includes syllabic abbreviations such as Benelux and satnav.
- verb To form into an acronym.
Etymology
Borrowed from German Akronym (from Ancient Greek ἄκρον (ákron, “end; peak”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma, “name”)), modelled after Homonym and Synonym, first attested in German in the early 1900s and in English in 1940. By surface analysis, acro- (prefix meaning ‘beginning; high’) + -onym (suffix meaning ‘name’)
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “acronym”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details