Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A term formed from the initial
letter or letters of several words or parts of words, but which is itself pronounced letter by letter.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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The plural of an initialism is the initialism plus s.
Word Court 2004
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The plural of an initialism is the initialism plus s.
Word Court 2004
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I recall a LONG time ago, when one of ALA's publication I think College & Research Libraries, but that could be wrong was redesigning its cover, they spent considerable time assuring that the new "initialism" graphic would not be sufficiently prominent to trigger a "title change."
Serial Title Changes David Bigwood 2006
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"initialism," the difference being it is an abbreviation using only first letters of words; an acronym being a new word created by the first letters, syllables or even arbitrary parts of the original words.
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Strictly speaking, DVD is not an acronym but an initialism (though the distinction is not always made).
Plurals of acronyms, abbreviations, initialisms and single letters 2009
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It has become a sorrowful S.O.P. nowadays to call any initialism an acronym.
Find All The Acronyms In Word Documents | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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A few weeks ago, a story flashed across my computer screen about bisphenol A, the plastic additive better known by its initialism BPA.
Jon Entine: With the European Union and a Slew of New Studies Reaffirming the Safety of BPA, At What Point Will the Science Prevail? Jon Entine 2010
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So an initialism becomes a new entity, a noun in its own right, demanding - s at the end of its plural like most of its neighbours have.
Plurals of acronyms, abbreviations, initialisms and single letters 2009
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AZ, an initialism for Alkmaar Zaanstreek, is a football club from Alkmaar, the Netherlands.
AZ Alkmaar 2007/08 Eridivisie League Azmie aka switch image 2007
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AZ, an initialism for Alkmaar Zaanstreek, is a football club from Alkmaar, the Netherlands.
Archive 2007-09-01 Azmie aka switch image 2007
denvan commented on the word initialism
Best definition:
NOUN: an abbreviation formed from initial letters
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initialism
July 27, 2009
denvan commented on the word initialism
Wordnik definition (via AHD)
NOUN: An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word.
http://www.wordnik.com/words/initialism
July 27, 2009
dontcry commented on the word initialism
I thought is was a form of government practiced by lawyers. "Initial here, and here, and here and....
July 27, 2009