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Backronym

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A '''backronym''' or '''bacronym''' is a type of acronym that is constructed to match the letters of an actual word appropriate in some fashion to the topic at hand. The word "backronym" is a portmanteau of ''back'' and ''acronym'' and was neologism coined in 1983. An acronym is a word created from the initial letters of a phrase: ''Random Access Memory'' becomes ''RAM'', pronounced as the word ''ram'', not as the individual letters. Some authorities distinguish between acronyms and acronym and initialism initialisms, using the term ''acronym'' only when the use of initials has been assimilated and the initials are pronounced as if they were letters of an ''actual word''.

Details
The backronym is a technique in which a phrase is constructed which has as its acronym an existing short word. There are both official and generally serious, as well as unofficial and often humorous backronyms. When a backronym is peddled as the origin of a word, it is often an example of false etymology; when it is widely believed it may have the status of a folk etymology; but more usually it is intended and understood as a joke, when it would be classed as an example of fake etymology.

Types
A pure backronym occurs when a sequence of letters is commonly understood to stand for a phrase that in fact had no role in its original conception. An example is SOS, the international distress signal that was chosen solely for its easy recognizability in Morse code, but which is often thought to stand for "save our ship", "save our souls" or something similar. An older distress signal, CQD, also has a backronym: "come quick, distress (or danger)." Another example is the word "wiki", from the Hawaiian language Hawaiian word meaning quick. Since its application to consumer generated media, some have suggested that wiki means "What I Know Is". Some backronyms are back-formation back-formed by replacing one or more words in an acronym with another, when the original meaning is deemed obsolete or inaccurate. For example, DVD originally stood for "digital video disc"; when it was noted that DVDs can store any digital data - video or otherwise - the term "digital versatile disc" was substituted. [http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.1.1] (Because no agreement was reached about the various possibilities, ''DVD'' now officially stands for nothing.) Another example is GSM, which originally started as an acronym for a French research group called "Groupe SpÃ©cial Mobile", but was later modified to stand for Global System for Mobile Communications. A well-known example in the United States is the SAT, which originally stood for "Scholastic Aptitude Test" but was changed to "Scholastic Assessment Test" after parent groups complained that the word "aptitude" implied that test scores reflected only innate talent and not preparation. Recently, it was changed again to officially stand for nothing. Second audio program SAP originally stood for "Spanish Audio Program", but eventually came to be described as "Secondary Audio Program." Gnu Compiler Collection GCC originally stood for "GNU C (programming language) C compiler", but compilers for various other languages have been added, and the acronym is now expanded to "GNU Compiler Collection." Other backronyms are back-formed from an existing word that was not previously an acronym. Generally these 'backronyms' are apronyms, as the word used as the 'backronym' is relevant to the expanded phrase it stands for. The relevance may be either serious or ironic. Most apronyms are examples of 'backronyms'. An example of this is the word "acronym" itself which can be ''A Clever Representation Of Names You Manufacture''. Apronyms may be used as a mnemonic device for remembering the underlying word. Many jocular (and often also derogatory) apronyms are created as a form of wordplay. An example of this is the former name for PC Card, PCMCIA: ''People Cannot Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms'' (it was originally an initialism for ''Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association''), or the numerous backronyms constructed by conservative groups for the ACLU. There are also false backronyms, in which letters are commonly, but inaccurately, thought to represent a phrase. An example is Anno Domini A.D., which stands for ''Anno Domini'' (Latin: "in the year of the Lord") and counts years since the birth of Jesus. However, many people incorrectly interpret its definition as 'After Death [of Christ]'. Another is R.I.P, which is actually an internationally-used acronym for Latin ''Requiescat in pacem'', not an English acronym for "Rest in Peace", as often thought, although the Latin and the English phrases have similar meaning and the same initials. Also, rocket propelled grenade RPG is commonly thought to stand for "Rocket-Propelled Grenade", but actually stands for the Russian phrase ''Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot'', meaning "handheld antitank grenade-launcher". The "ping" command used for checking network response whose origin is debated could be a backronym based on 'Packet INternet Groper'. Moral conservatives in the US created backronyms for famous Heavy metal music heavy metal bands that attempt to allude at "evil" or satanic content and perhaps that such meaning was originally intended by the musicians. Examples include KISS (band) KISS (Knights In Satan's Service)Fletcher Brothers Brothers, Fletcher A.: "The Rock Report", 1987. Brothers cites a January 1980 ''American Photographer'' article as his source., AC/DC (Anti-Christ/Devil's Children), and Slayer (Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot)Ibid. Brothers further claims that this phrase is inscribed in the vinyl of the 'Show No Mercy' LP. Some 'backronyms' are recursive acronyms like GNU, PHP or the pseudo-acronym JINI. And, somewhere in here, we would find the USA_PATRIOT_Act USA PATRIOT Act, the long name for which, "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act," was constructed to match the desired USA PATRIOT acronym by government staffers in the days following the September 11, 2001, attacks on America. Another popular backronym is from the computer game Doom, in which the really big gun is called a BFG, which came to stand as "Big Fucking Gun" (or "Big Friendly Gun") and in the movie adaptation: "Bio Force Gun."

Notes

See also
* -onym * List of backronyms * False etymology * Fake etymology * back-formation * apronym * retronym * TLA * abbreviation * IHTFP

External links

- Backronym expansions of ACRONYM (Acronym Finder)
- Citations of the word "backronym" from The Word Spy Category:Acronyms Category:Neologisms Category:Portmanteaus de:Backronym fr:RÃ©tro-acronymie nl:Backroniem fi:Backronym sv:Backronym zh:æ”¯æ?´é æ–‡å—

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