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What is acronym?
What is a acronym?

acronym

 [ak-ruh-nim]   Example Sentences Origin

ac·ro·nym

   [ak-ruh-nim]
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.

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Acronym is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
to run away hurriedly; flee.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
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

Can be confused: abbreviation, acronym.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To acronym
Example Sentences
  • There is always some new acronym in the technology industry.
  • Its also their fault for choosing a catchy acronym and then trying to make a name out of it.
  • The geeky acronym stands for random access memory.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
acronym (ˈækrənɪm)
 
—n
a pronounceable name made up of a series of initial letters or parts of words; for example, UNESCO for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
 
[C20: from acro- + -onym]
 
acro'nymic
 
—adj
 
acronymous
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
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.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

acronym definition

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, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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