38:
139:
was coined in the US as a mnemonic learning aid: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. Another example is the
American Contract Bridge League's tools to address cheating in online bridge games. EDGAR was originally named for Edgar Kaplan, whose many contributions to the game
241:
is often believed to be an abbreviation for "save our ship" or "save our souls" but was chosen because it has a simple and unmistakable Morse code representation – three dots, three dashes, and three dots, sent without any pauses between characters.
89:
from "radio detection and ranging". By contrast, a backronym is "an acronym deliberately formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word or words, either to create a memorable name or as a fanciful explanation of a word's origin". Many
973:
140:
included groundbreaking efforts to reduce illegal partnership communication. The new EDGAR tools expected to debut in early 2024 have been launched with the backronym "everyone deserves a game above reproach".
965:
194:, an adjective describing stylish items or members of the upper class. A popular story derives the word as an acronym from "port out, starboard home", referring to 19th-century first-class cabins on
271:, sometimes claimed to mean "yet another hierarchical officious oracle", but in fact chosen because Yahoo's founders liked the word's meaning of "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth" (taken from
60:
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
176:
234:, which is a derogatory term for a working-class youth. This word is probably of Romani origin but commonly believed to be a backronym of "council-housed and violent".
42:
655:
404:
185:. Acronyms were rare in the English language before the 1930s, and most etymologies of common words or phrases that suggest origin from an acronym are false.
801:
529:
453:
115:, a nine-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in 1996. Officials later publicized the backronym "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response".
622:
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499:
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159:(Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) of 2001, and the
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Sometimes a backronym is reputed to have been used in the formation of the original word, and amounts to a false etymology or an
556:
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935:
914:
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285:" is commonly stated to mean "possible assistance needed", whereas it is in fact derived from the French word
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877:
432:
1016:
329:
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202:) and homeward voyages west. The word's actual etymology is unknown, but more likely related to
131:, used to assess the health of newborn babies. The rating system was devised by and named after
1011:
1001:
857:
734:
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687:
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319:
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83:
A normal acronym is a word derived from the initial letters of the words of a phrase, such as
727:
677:
216:
823:
496:"The Virginia Apgar Papers - Obstetric Anesthesia and a Scorecard for Newborns, 1949-1958"
203:
61:
46:
361:
314:
299:
272:
132:
112:
98:(special executive for counterintelligence, terrorism, revenge and extortion) from the
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995:
250:
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650:
195:
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but falsely believed to be an acronym for "all day I dream about sport"; The word
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198:, which were shaded from the sun on outbound voyages east (e.g. from Britain to
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128:
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100:
966:"Qantas flight QF144 lands safely at Sydney Airport after midair mayday call"
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160:
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37:
324:
309:
304:
124:
31:
17:
354:"Backronym – Definition of backronym in English by Oxford Dictionaries"
282:
95:
57:
268:
246:
646:"All the Silly Legislative Acronyms Congress Came Up with This Year"
229:
189:
147:
bills have backronyms as their names; examples include the
American
259:, said to stand for "what I know is", but in fact derived from the
163:(Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act). In the
85:
36:
177:
List of common false etymologies of
English words § Acronyms
255:
212:
471:"AMBER Alert – America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response"
238:
470:
854:
All Day I Dream About Sport: The Story of the Adidas Brand
794:"Everything you ever wanted to know about the word 'chav'"
135:. Ten years after the initial publication, the backronym
348:
346:
798:
Ideas Lab
Predictor Podcast, University of Birmingham
155:
Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act) of 2020, the
41:
Humorous example of a backronym used by NASA to name
726:
709:Port Out, Starboard Home: And Other Language Myths
167:(2013) there were over 240 bills with such names.
584:"S.3548 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): CARES Act"
936:"The History of Yahoo! - How It All Started..."
43:a treadmill on the International Space Station
8:
245:More recent examples include the brand name
225:('white robes'), a term for wealthy people.
206:
498:. U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH.
220:
522:"ACBL Battles Online Cheating with EDGAR"
766:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2009.
686:. New York: Oxford University Press US.
447:"AmberAdvocate.org: AMBER Alert history"
27:Acronym invented to fit an existing word
552:"The CARES Act Works for All Americans"
342:
532:from the original on November 15, 2023
111:missing-child program was named after
856:. Great Brand Stories. London: Cyan.
658:from the original on January 24, 2022
625:from the original on January 24, 2022
7:
976:from the original on 18 January 2023
917:from the original on 6 December 2006
386:from the original on 28 October 2006
45:, in reference to American comedian
888:from the original on 7 October 2006
520:Official, ACBL (8 November 2023).
25:
781:. The Wikimedia Foundation. 2023.
477:from the original on 27 July 2010
92:fictional espionage organizations
459:from the original on 2022-10-09.
834:from the original on 2012-12-02
804:from the original on 2023-09-29
644:Bump, Philip (August 2, 2013).
594:from the original on 2020-10-02
582:McConnell, Mitch (2020-06-03).
564:from the original on 2020-10-01
557:U.S. Department of the Treasury
502:from the original on 2009-01-13
237:Similarly, the distress signal
123:An example of a backronym as a
964:Green, Eli (18 January 2023).
822:Rohrer, Finlo (13 June 2008).
792:Bennett, Joe (30 April 2012).
473:. Amberalert.gov. 2007-11-01.
249:, named after company founder
1:
729:Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds
358:Oxford Dictionaries – English
613:"The art of the 'backronym'"
228:Another example is the word
221:
1043:
174:
29:
764:Oxford English Dictionary
725:Quinion, Michael (2006).
723:; published in the US as
707:Quinion, Michael (2005).
852:Brunner, Conrad (2004).
94:are backronyms, such as
30:Not to be confused with
289:, meaning 'breakdown'.
207:
941:. 2001. Archived from
281:). The distress call "
145:United States Congress
49:
211:('half-penny') or to
175:Further information:
40:
878:"The wiki principle"
171:As false etymologies
945:on 29 November 2001
330:Satiric misspelling
267:meaning 'fast'; or
251:Adolf "Adi" Dassler
278:Gulliver's Travels
50:
828:BBC News Magazine
733:. HarperCollins.
693:978-0-19-539311-8
678:Sheidlower, Jesse
621:. July 28, 2020.
364:on March 1, 2019.
320:Recursive acronym
188:Examples include
107:For example, the
16:(Redirected from
1034:
1027:1980s neologisms
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431:. Archived from
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360:. Archived from
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68:. The word is a
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215:(borrowed from
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157:USA PATRIOT Act
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62:false etymology
47:Stephen Colbert
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1022:Types of words
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911:Dictionary.com
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884:. 2006-04-20.
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824:"Save our SOS"
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526:Bridge Winners
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435:on 2004-01-28.
409:"RADAR means:
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380:Dictionary.com
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315:Pseudo-acronym
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300:Acronymization
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273:Jonathan Swift
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165:113th Congress
133:Virginia Apgar
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113:Amber Hagerman
66:folk etymology
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882:The Economist
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718:0-14-101223-4
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429:Nasa Explores
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978:. Retrieved
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660:. Retrieved
651:The Atlantic
649:
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616:
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588:congress.gov
587:
577:
566:. Retrieved
555:
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536:November 15,
534:. Retrieved
525:
515:
504:. Retrieved
490:
479:. Retrieved
465:
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433:the original
428:
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399:
388:. Retrieved
379:
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362:the original
357:
286:
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230:
227:
196:ocean liners
190:
187:
183:urban legend
180:
142:
136:
122:
106:
99:
84:
82:
77:
73:
53:
51:
970:news.com.au
711:. Penguin.
662:January 24,
629:January 24,
153:Coronavirus
129:Apgar score
109:Amber Alert
104:franchise.
70:portmanteau
1017:Neologisms
996:Categories
980:18 January
949:8 November
921:2006-11-15
892:2006-11-15
838:2012-07-10
808:2023-10-13
779:Wiktionary
683:The F-Word
598:2020-10-02
568:2020-10-02
506:2008-11-18
481:2010-07-08
390:2006-11-15
337:References
222:safed-pōśh
101:James Bond
1007:Etymology
618:Roll Call
417:etection
376:"Acronym"
265:wiki-wiki
161:DREAM Act
149:CARES Act
54:backronym
1012:Folklore
1002:Acronyms
974:Archived
915:Archived
886:Archived
832:Archived
802:Archived
777:"chav".
680:(2009).
656:Archived
623:Archived
592:Archived
562:Archived
530:Archived
500:Archived
475:Archived
454:Archived
384:Archived
325:Retronym
310:Mnemonic
305:Acrostic
293:See also
275:'s book
261:Hawaiian
208:påš xåra
125:mnemonic
119:Examples
32:retronym
18:Bacronym
754:"posh,
425:anging"
283:pan-pan
263:phrase
217:Persian
127:is the
96:SPECTRE
78:acronym
58:acronym
907:"wiki"
860:
737:
715:
690:
269:Yahoo!
247:Adidas
204:Romani
56:is an
939:Yahoo
457:(PDF)
450:(PDF)
287:panne
200:India
143:Many
137:APGAR
86:radar
982:2023
951:2015
858:ISBN
758:and
756:adj.
735:ISBN
713:ISBN
688:ISBN
664:2022
631:2022
538:2023
413:dio
405:NASA
256:Wiki
231:chav
213:Urdu
191:posh
76:and
74:back
762:".
421:nd
239:SOS
72:of
64:or
998::
972:.
968:.
913:.
909:.
880:.
830:.
826:.
800:.
796:.
760:n.
654:.
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615:.
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586:.
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524:.
452:.
427:.
411:Ra
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601:.
571:.
540:.
509:.
484:.
423:R
419:a
415:D
393:.
151:(
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20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
