Questions tagged [initialisms]
An initialism is an abbreviation which consists of the initial components of a phrase or word, and which is mainly pronounced by spelling the initialism aloud.
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NASA: pronunciation /ˈnæsə/
Why is the 1958 acronym NASA pronounced /ˈnæsə/?
Generally, the rule goes
Stressed vowel + consonant + vowel = vowel's name + consonant + schwa
Thus, we get NATO /ˈneɪt̬oʊ/.
Howver, NASA ...
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How to pronounce name initials?
Initialisms are usually late-stressed, e.g., CIA /ˌsiaɪˈeɪ/, or mph /ˌempiːˈeɪtʃ/
However, I don't know how to pronounce initials from personal names, such as
J.K. Rowling
J.R.R. Tolkien
O.J. Simpson....
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Pronunciation of initialisms from early-stressed compounds
Orange juice is early-stressed, but initialisms are usually late-stressed (e.g., CIA /ˌsiaɪˈeɪ/), so how is OJ pronounced?
Compare knockout /ˈnɒk aʊt/ and KO /ˌkeɪ ˈəʊ/
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What are good ways to write the past tense of DOS (Denial Of Service)? [duplicate]
In computer security, the initialism or three letter acronym "DOS" often stands for "Denial of Service", as in a "DOS attack".
Sometimes it is used as a verb: "One ...
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Term for a word based on an initialism
I recently came across the word 'geeb', a pronunciation and "wordification" of 'GB', itself an initialism of 'gravity bong'. It reminded me of 'okay', which has a similar relationship with '...
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Why do we say some initialisms and acronyms as words but not others? [duplicate]
Initialisms and acronyms with vowels can be said as single words. Is there any coherent pattern or convention determining the choice? VIP? LOL? DIY? WAG? For example?
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Rules regarding a portmanteau that includes an initialism [closed]
Are there rules for creating a portmanteau using an initialism and part of a word?
Examples:
ATM + empathy = ATMpathy
SOS + espionage = SOSpionage
Are there existing examples of this? Should they ...
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What's the correct way to write our names? [closed]
Most people who live in my locality write their names with initials at the
end. Usually these initials are abbreviations of long family names, like
Joseph Alex TP, where TP stands for ...
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VTOL Hybrid Initialism/Acronym?
VTOL, for "Vertical Takeoff and Landing" I have usually heard pronounced as "Vee-Tol", Cambridge link
That got me wondering on what kind of word this is. As I understand it, an ...
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Pluralising abbreviations ending in S
From general Googling, I understand it is correct to add an 's' (lower case) if pluralising abbreviations ending in 'S' and this makes sense. However, I am surprised to have so far found no instances ...
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Can an abbreviation of a verb be classified as a nominalisation?
For example, in the abbreviation for the fictional organisation "SCP Foundation", "SCP" is short for "Secure, Contain, Protect."
Would this classify the term "SCP&...
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What’s the term for an acronym that refers to another acronym?
For example, AIM stands for AOL Instant Messenger, and AOL stands for American OnLine.
This isn’t quite the same thing as a recursive acronym, which refers to itself. Maybe the term is nested acronym?
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Is an acronym/initialism ever pluralized in its parenthetical introduction?
For example, if the first use of RDA occurs as follows:
"Recommended daily allowances (RDAs) are established by nutritionists after some kind of research...."
Should the parenthetical ...
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Are "i.e." and "e.g." initialisms?
I was told that abbreviations consist of initialisms (FBI, a.k.a.†), acronyms (NATO, ), and shortened words (ad, bike).
† Thanks to Pete Kirkham for correcting me: for most people a.k.a. is an ...
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"UID" (unique identifier) - half abbreviation, half initialism. What it is? [duplicate]
According to Your Dictionary¹:
Abbreviations: St. for Street and Saint, Mr. for mister
Acronyms: radar for radio detection and ranging
Initialisms: aka for also known as, FBI for Federal Bureau of ...
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History of 'acronym' versus 'initialism'?
Nowadays on the internet there's a contingent who make a strong distinction between 'acronyms', which they say must be pronounced "phonetically" (for lack of a better term), and 'initialisms'...
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What's the correct British English plural form of TV? Is it TVs or TV's? Thank you!
e.g. I have two TVs VS I have two TV's. Which one is the correct form in British English?
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Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms with a number in front of it
I understand that using a definite article with an initialism. For example WKC for World Kendo Championship needs "the" if it pronounces "double-U kay si." I want to know if "the" is still need if it ...
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Initial First Name Last Name
Is it acceptable to put your first name initial followed by last name in a written document.
For example, if the name is John Smith to say J. Smith? Is it appropriate?
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When creating an initialism of a country's full name, should the "o" in "of" be capitalized once initialized?
When creating an initialism of a country's full name, should the "o" in "of" be capitalized once initialized? For example, should Republic of Ireland be "ROI" or "RoI"?
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A name for all AA, NA, SA, ... Organizations/Communities?
There is this organization/fellowship/support community for alcoholics called
Alcoholics Anonymous. For sex or porn addiction, the organization/fellowship/support community is called Sexaholics ...
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Initials of surnames with Saint (St.)
When writing the initials of a surname such as "St. John" (I will use the first name of Tom for an example), would those initials be written as 'TSJ' or 'TS' or 'TJ' or are all of these equally common?...
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Acronyms and Initialisms- Uppercase, Lowercase, or either
Is there a rule on acronyms and initialisms being spelled out with the first letter of each word being uppercase or lowercase?
Example:
interim final rule (IFR)
Interim Final Rule (IFR)
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When introducing an initialism for the first time in a paper, but the noun is possessive, do I make the initialism possessive as well?
E.g.,
Mobile network operator's (MNO's) networks are overloaded.
Or
Mobile network operator's (MNO) networks are overloaded.
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How to make an initialism out of a word/phrase with a number?
I have a question. How do I make an initialism out of a word/phrase with a number?
For an example: Should Rainbow 6 Siege be R6S because of initialism is an abbreviation made of initial letters but 6 ...
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Why are some initialisms sometimes spelled with a slash? E.g. O/S for Operating System [duplicate]
I've only ever seen this practice used to refer to "Operating System" with "O/S", but according to The Free Dictionary there are a few more. Why is the slash in the middle sometimes used? Isn't "OS" ...
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What is it called when words are grouped together by their first letter?
This method is often used in teaching, marketing, management, self-help books, for example:
The 4 T's of success, the 3 D's of determination, etc.
What is this process/method called?
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Past tense of MOT? [duplicate]
I'm usually quite good at this kind of thing but can't decide on this.
When describing when a car has had its MOT (Ministry of Transport) test do I write...
Recently MOTd
Recently MOT'd
Recently ...
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What type of word is SeQueL called, when you pronounce the abbreviation SQL as "SeQueL"
In database technology there is a standard called "Structured Query Language", which is abbreviated as SQL. However, some people pronounce SQL as "SeQueL".
If SQL is an "abbreviation" or "acronym" - ...
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How to pluralize the following initialism [duplicate]
I'm having difficulty finding an answer to this. If I need to pluralize the following phrase "Request for Support" to "Requests for Support" would I put it as, RFSs, RFS's, RsFS, R.F.S.'s, R.'sF.S. or ...
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Adding the 'the' article for proper noun and abbreviation? [duplicate]
As a part-time English tutorial teacher who isn't specialized in language, I would like to ask about article usage for proper nouns and abbreviations.
Do you add 'the' for the following sentences?
"I ...
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How to express my first name in initial(s) when its composed of two separate parts
First of all, I'm Korean, and we don't have a middle name.
Except for a very few odd cases, our names are composed of one letter surname, and two letters first name.
For example, former UN secretary ...
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Do all acronyms need to be capitalized? [duplicate]
Acronyms and initialisms are almost always capitalized, think:
BBC
HTML
ASAP
etc.
Sometimes though acronyms are not capitalized. Even the license at the bottom of this page is written as:
cc by-sa ...
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Capital letters in own defined acronyms
I am writing my PhD thesis, and I want to use the acronym "DOM" referring to "Domain Optimization Method", as I use a lot that expression throughout the document. At the moment of defining it (i.e. ...
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Articles with initialisms: 'the' or no 'the', can both be correct?
(Skip to the end for the actual question.)
Definitions
According to Oxford Living Dictionaries, an initialism is:
"An abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately".
...
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What is the origin of using particular initials such as AJ, JJ etc as a first name? [closed]
In the English language (and predominantly American English), it is relatively common to see a (limited) set of first and middle names that form initials used as a shortened version of the given names....
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Does OP mean “original poster” or “original post”?
In an online forum, OP means "original poster," but can it also mean "original post?"
For example, instead of saying
To answer the OP's original question...
could one instead say
To answer the ...
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What is the shorter way of saying - "I am sharing my understanding, in a hope to get corrected"? [closed]
I am looking for a concise way of saying or writing, "I am sharing my understanding about blah, in a hope to get corrected". The phrase "IMHO" expresses part of the idea, but does not necessarily ...
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Pluralization of acronyms [duplicate]
I have seen the following questions: Pluralization of acronyms ending in 'S', What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? or Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers — use an apostrophe or ...
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On the usage of "the" article with acronyms and initialisms
I've read Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms and Is it appropriate to use "the" before an abbreviation? I know that
1. The article is often used with initials that are ...
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How can I make initialisms that refer to plurals possessive? [duplicate]
I want to know if it is correct to treat AF as a proper name and thus write "AF's concept" or if I must take the words of the initialism into consideration and write "AFs' (as I would write "Armed ...
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What is the correct way to pluralize an initialism in which the final word is not pluralized by adding the letter "s"?
In computer science we discuss an abstract machine called a "deterministic finite automaton". The standard initialism for this term is "DFA". This makes sense in the singular usage of the initialism.
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Is there a term for embedding an acronym or initialism inside a friendlier-sounding name for a desired effect?
At my job I have created an application which supplements the functions of the main system the employees use during the day. The main system is referred to with a Three Letter Abbreviation (TLA).
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Is there a distinct term for acronyms with multi-letter parts?
Is there a distinct term for acronyms with multi-letter parts, particularly in title case?
My motivating examples are:
Conventions: BlizzCon, NyCon II, WonderCon (nee Wonderful World of Comics ...
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What is the poetic meter of 'O.K.'? [closed]
Is the acronym "O.K." generally pronounced as an iamb or a trochee? Or is it context-dependent?
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Are you supposed to use capitalized letters when expanding an all-caps initialism in parentheses to explain what each initial respectively stands for?
Which of these two is written correctly:
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
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Capitalization of the initialism "PC" [closed]
When using it as 'personal computer', should it be lowercase as opposed to other uses such as 'political correctness' which may be more descriptive through use of uppercase?
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How do you pluralize the first letter of acronym? [duplicate]
How does one pluarlize an acronym (or initialism) when the first letter of the acronym is the one to be pluarlized?
What acronym is to be used for "ways of reasoning" if WoR is "way of reasoning"?
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Correct spelling for the abbreviation "FPS" (frames per second) [duplicate]
Well-known game journalists TotalBiscuit and Jim Sterling use [the number of frames per second] fps instead of 30FPS or 30 FPS, without an intervening space between the units and the following units (...
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Use of acronyms or initalisms as adjectives of nouns
I have always been curious about the use of acronyms and initialisms in scientific manuscripts. For one, take the following example.
An author has abbreviated "continuous infusion" as CI, with regard ...
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