Changes

*1. Although contradictory, both meanings of the word acronym are in common use. The second sense is often criticized by commentators who prefer the term initialism for abbreviations that are not pronounced like an ordinary word.

*1. Although contradictory, both meanings of the word acronym are in common use. The second sense is often criticized by commentators who prefer the term initialism for abbreviations that are not pronounced like an ordinary word.

*2. Acronyms are generally written with all letters in upper case. Some acronyms are treated as words in their own right and are written in lower case (such as scuba or radar).

*2. Acronyms are generally written with all letters in upper case. Some acronyms are treated as words in their own right and are written in lower case (such as scuba or radar).

*3. Older usage required that each letter be followed by a full stop. Current usage tends to omit full stops.

*3. Older usage required that each letter be followed by a full stop. Current usage tends to omit full stops.[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acronym]

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Sometimes an acronym's official meaning is crafted to fit an acronym that actually means something that sounds less "official". For instance, the [[GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb]] (MOAB) recently developed in the United States is popularly called the "mother of all bombs" since it is the largest conventional bomb in the world; it is widely assumed that the "mother of all wars" phrase was the true inspiration for the MOAB acronym.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}  

Sometimes an acronym's official meaning is crafted to fit an acronym that actually means something that sounds less "official". For instance, the [[GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb]] (MOAB) recently developed in the United States is popularly called the "mother of all bombs" since it is the largest conventional bomb in the world; it is widely assumed that the "mother of all wars" phrase was the true inspiration for the MOAB acronym.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}  

Likewise titles are made up to form an existing word when shortened to an initialism. The [[Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985]], a health care bill, is better known as COBRA and the longish [[USA PATRIOT Act|Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001]] was intentionally called so for its abbreviation, "USA PATRIOT Act".

Likewise titles are made up to form an existing word when shortened to an initialism. The [[Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985]], a health care bill, is better known as COBRA and the longish [[USA PATRIOT Act|Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001]] was intentionally called so for its abbreviation, "USA PATRIOT Act".

Sometimes a multi-word name or title is revised because its intuitive initialism is considered inappropriate, for example [[Verliebt in Berlin]] (ViB), a German [[telenovela]], was first intended to be titled "Alles nur aus Liebe" resulting in "ANAL". Also, the Computer Literacy and Internet Technology qualification is known as CLAiT, rather than CLIT.

Sometimes a multi-word name or title is revised because its intuitive initialism is considered inappropriate, for example [[Verliebt in Berlin]] (ViB), a German [[telenovela]], was first intended to be titled "Alles nur aus Liebe" resulting in "ANAL". Also, the Computer Literacy and Internet Technology qualification is known as CLAiT, rather than CLIT.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]