Initialisms
Re: Initialisms
They are all from the EAM - European Acronym Mountain
astonishing .... if you Google "acronym" somewhere there is a massive resource that someone as compiled
Rob
Edit: The word "astonishing" has been substituted by the forum's profanasaurus component for a 3 letter acronym with a W as first letter . . .
astonishing .... if you Google "acronym" somewhere there is a massive resource that someone as compiled
Rob
Edit: The word "astonishing" has been substituted by the forum's profanasaurus component for a 3 letter acronym with a W as first letter . . .
E2E http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk
HoECC http://www.heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Cytech accredited mechanic . . . and woodworker
HoECC http://www.heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Cytech accredited mechanic . . . and woodworker
Re: Initialisms
**pedant alert**
Acronym has a specific meaning in that the abbreviation is made up of the first letter of each word, and the result is a new word. So for example 'NASA' is an acronym, but if you were to pronounce it 'en-eh-ess-eh' it would be an intitialism.
Most of the abbreviations under discussion are initialisms not acronyms.
cheers
Acronym has a specific meaning in that the abbreviation is made up of the first letter of each word, and the result is a new word. So for example 'NASA' is an acronym, but if you were to pronounce it 'en-eh-ess-eh' it would be an intitialism.
Most of the abbreviations under discussion are initialisms not acronyms.
cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Re: Initialisms
I do love acronyms that have two or more meanings
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
Re: Initialisms
** further pedant alert**
I suspect that this is a case where the dictionaries – and thus the pedants – are wrong. Meaning, as you have said in the past Brucey, comes from usage, and certainly in the world I inhabit, everybody would refer to BBC, STD etc., (and TLA (three letter acronym)), as acronyms.
Brucey wrote:**pedant alert**
Acronym has a specific meaning in that the abbreviation is made up of the first letter of each word, and the result is a new word. So for example 'NASA' is an acronym, but if you were to pronounce it 'en-eh-ess-eh' it would be an intitialism.
Most of the abbreviations under discussion are initialisms not acronyms.
cheers
I suspect that this is a case where the dictionaries – and thus the pedants – are wrong. Meaning, as you have said in the past Brucey, comes from usage, and certainly in the world I inhabit, everybody would refer to BBC, STD etc., (and TLA (three letter acronym)), as acronyms.
Re: Initialisms
I think some dictionaries are starting to include the 'wrong' meaning of the word acronym, because it is so widespread. Without acronym we wouldn't have bacronym…
cheers
cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re: Initialisms
TLA = 3 letter acronym
STI = Shimano Triple Incompatible
SPD = Simplex Pedaling Dynamics
AASHTA = As Always Sheldon Has the Answer
SRAM = Service, Replace Almost Monthly
STI = Shimano Triple Incompatible
SPD = Simplex Pedaling Dynamics
AASHTA = As Always Sheldon Has the Answer
SRAM = Service, Replace Almost Monthly
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Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG
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Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG
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Re: Initialisms
.....and they change.
STD used to mean something to do with telephones, now it is a nasty itch. Whereas std, often means standard.
Define then use, or don't and confuse.
STD used to mean something to do with telephones, now it is a nasty itch. Whereas std, often means standard.
Define then use, or don't and confuse.
- The utility cyclist
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- Location: The first garden city
Re: Initialisms
Brucey wrote:I think some dictionaries are starting to include the 'wrong' meaning of the word acronym, because it is so widespread. Without acronym we wouldn't have bacronym…
cheers
No, they aren't wrong, dictionaries themselves change with popular use/acceptance in modern language, thus they are correct in changing the meaning of acronym as people adapt and accept it in common use.
This is what nirakaro was saying.
- Chris Jeggo
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Re: Initialisms
simonhill wrote:STD used to mean something to do with telephones, now it is a nasty itch. Whereas std, often means standard.
That STD has now morphed to STI, which is still a nasty itch .... to, er, spend money on handlebar bling?
TLA = three-letter abbreviation, BTW.
The 'onym' of acronym comes from the Greek for 'name' (other common instances are synonym and pseudonym), so it should be a pronounceable word, but not necessarily an initialism - e.g. radar = radio detection and ranging.
- Chris Jeggo
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- Joined: 3 Jul 2010, 9:44am
- Location: Surrey
Re: Initialisms
The utility cyclist wrote:Brucey wrote:I think some dictionaries are starting to include the 'wrong' meaning of the word acronym, because it is so widespread. Without acronym we wouldn't have bacronym…
cheers
No, they aren't wrong, dictionaries themselves change with popular use/acceptance in modern language, thus they are correct in changing the meaning of acronym as people adapt and accept it in common use.
This is what nirakaro was saying.
Brucey did not say the dictionaries are wrong; indeed he put the word 'wrong' in quotes. I sympathise with him regarding usage. When two words have similar but distinct meanings it reduces the power of the language for precise expression when incorrect use becomes widespread.
- The utility cyclist
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- Location: The first garden city
Re: Initialisms
Chris Jeggo wrote:The utility cyclist wrote:Brucey wrote:I think some dictionaries are starting to include the 'wrong' meaning of the word acronym, because it is so widespread. Without acronym we wouldn't have bacronym…
cheers
No, they aren't wrong, dictionaries themselves change with popular use/acceptance in modern language, thus they are correct in changing the meaning of acronym as people adapt and accept it in common use.
This is what nirakaro was saying.
Brucey did not say the dictionaries are wrong; indeed he put the word 'wrong' in quotes. I sympathise with him regarding usage. When two words have similar but distinct meanings it reduces the power of the language for precise expression when incorrect use becomes widespread.
We'll beg to differ on that, he clearly said they were including the wrong meaning, it's not 'wrong' or wrong if it is in fact the accepted use, it has therefore changed in meaning because of popularity.
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Re: Initialisms
simonhill wrote:.....and they change.
STD used to mean something to do with telephones, now it is a nasty itch. Whereas std, often means standard.
Define then use, or don't and confuse.
Registration marks are fun, in one small town in Germany all vehicles are 'STD', standard trunk dialling
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
Re: Initialisms
Cyril Haearn wrote:More to the point, what do the user names on these fora signify?
Fairly obvious this one....one eyed cyclist.Not joking,lost it when I was 8yrs old,throwing stones as you do on the way home from school.
Re: Initialisms
I like self-referencing acronyms - like the Linux facility for running Windows programmes: "WINE" which stands for Wine Is Not (an) Emulator. That particular example is classified as a recursive backronym by Wikipedia.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute.
Re: Initialisms
The utility cyclist wrote:Chris Jeggo wrote:The utility cyclist wrote:No, they aren't wrong, dictionaries themselves change with popular use/acceptance in modern language, thus they are correct in changing the meaning of acronym as people adapt and accept it in common use.
This is what nirakaro was saying.
Brucey did not say the dictionaries are wrong; indeed he put the word 'wrong' in quotes. I sympathise with him regarding usage. When two words have similar but distinct meanings it reduces the power of the language for precise expression when incorrect use becomes widespread.
We'll beg to differ on that, he clearly said they were including the wrong meaning, it's not 'wrong' or wrong if it is in fact the accepted use, it has therefore changed in meaning because of popularity.
I hate the misuse of "literally", which, I recall hearing, has caused one dictionary to include its use as an intensifier adverb.
I understand that the word "nice" used to mean stupid or foolish - which makes the phrase "awfully nice but dim" a bit of a repetition.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute.