Acronyms

[Coldicote]

We live in an age of acronyms and I guess I'm not alone in spending time finding out what they mean? Have you found any particularly irritating - or amusing? Here are just a few for starters and no doubt there are many more: -

ADSL; ATM; BTW; NATO; CD-ROM; DNS; SCUBA; SSR; LOL

When I first came to AB I imagined that LOL meant Little Old Lady!
Last but not least what is the word ACRONYM derived from?

[bibblebub]

NIFOC http://www.noslang.com/top20.php

[dr b]

Acronym: "coinage from acro-, comb. form of Greek akros "tip, end" + -onym "name""

[Buenchico]

Most of that list are NOT acronyms!

They're all ABBREVIATIONS but an abbreviation only becomes an acronym when the letters combine together to form a new word. For example, if you pronounce 'BBC' you say each letter separately because it's only an abbreviation. However, if you pronounce 'NATO' you say 'nay-toe' (thus creating a new word) because it's an acronym (as well as an abbreviation).

Akron = 'end' in Greek.
'Nym' = 'name' in Greek.

Chris

[craft1948]

I'm an acronym..............

[ladyalex]

NO, I'm an acronym

[bibblebub]

I am Spartcaus

[ladyalex]

That's what I said, bibblebub.....

[Coldicote]

That was quick! I'm thinking this kind of thing could provide clues for a puzzle. I hope you are not as angry as you look, Chris.

[craft1948]

Maybe I meant an anachronism............

[nicolab6]

TLA - stands for three letter acronym. Yes, we have an acronym to describe acronyms!

[sandyRoe]

LOL=Loyal Orange Lodge

[Buenchico]

Nicolab6:
TLA is NOT an acronym!!!
(Read my post, above)

[MarkRae]

Chris is right. Why on earth do people find this so difficult...?

[starone]

I can't work out what they all mean and I should be grateful if someone would tell me. Abbreviations or acronyms either or both. I know lol - laugh out loud, atm I assume is at the moment but correct me if wrong. btw by the way imo in my opinion, imho in my honest opinion. but the others I haven't got a clue. Oh I forgot pmsl but I am not going to translate that, because I can't bring myself to type the rude word.

[bibblebub]

Perhaps people don't find this difficult, they just like to needle the pedants.

[starone]

lol - little old lady - that'll be me then.

[Buenchico]

For Starbuckone:
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is what you're probably using to connect to the internet.

ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is probably where you get your cash from. (Although, for me, it means the Association of Teachers of Mathematics, which I belonged to for many years).

BTW, when used on sites like this one means 'by the way'

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is what theoretically protects us from invasion.

CD-ROM (Compact Disc, Read-Only Memory) is what your computer's software probably came on.

DNS (Domain Name System) is what, via a DNS server, translates the URL you type into your address bar into the 'proper' (numeric') address of the site you want to view. For example, the 'real' address of Amazon's UK website is 178.236.4.29. (Type it into your browser's address bar if you don't believe me!). The Domain Name System is used to convert 'www.amazon.co.uk' to that address, so that you don't have to remember lots of numbers.

Scuba is 'self-contained underwater breathing apparatus'.

SSR is a new one to me! 'Solid state recorder' is just one of many possibilities:
http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/SSR

LOL = Laugh(s) out loud

[starone]

Thanks Chris. I believe everything you say, you know so much. I shan't need many of them then shall I? For instance, I always call the ATM the cash point and if I start calling it an ATM now my friends will want to know what I am talking about. (Rough lot) And a lot of the others are beyond me anyway. I think I will let other people do the worrying for me and go on being higgerant like the rough lot mentioned above. No refinement whatsoever.