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acronym - 5 dictionary results

ac⋅ro⋅nym

  [ak-ruh-nim]
Use acronym in a Sentence
–noun
1. a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words, as Wac from Women's Army Corps, OPEC from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or loran from long-range navigation.
2. an acrostic.
–verb (used with object)
3. to make an acronym of: The committee's name has been acronymed MIKE.
Origin:
1940–45; acr- + -onym

Related forms:
ac⋅ro⋅nym⋅ic, a⋅cron⋅y⋅mous  [uh-kron-uh-muhs] , adjective
ac⋅ro⋅nym⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To acronym
ac·ro·nym   (āk'rə-nĭm')   
n.  A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for Women's Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging.

[acr(o)- + -onym.]
ac'ro·nym'ic, a·cron'y·mous (ə-krŏn'ə-məs) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

acronym [(ak-ruh-nim)]

A word formed by combining the beginning letters of a name or phrase, as in WASP for white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or by combining the initial syllables of a series of words, as in radar, which stands for radio detecting and ranging.

Note: Acronyms are often less clumsy than the complete expressions they represent and are easier to write and remember.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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acronym 
1943 coinage from acro-, comb. form of Gk. akros "tip, end" (see acrid) + Eng. -onym "name" (abstracted from homonym; see name). The practice was non-existent before 20c. except in cabalistic esoterica and acrostic poetry.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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acronym jargon
An identifier formed from some of the letters (often the initials) of a phrase and used as an abbreviation. This dictionary contains a great many acronyms; see the contents page for a list.
See also TLA.
(1995-03-15)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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