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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.uwa.edu.au!disco.iinet.net.au!news1.mpcs.com!zephyr.texoma.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!feed1.news.erols.com!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!szdc!newsp.zippo.com!news1 From: eric@gadgetguru.com (Eric O'Dell) Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.x,alt.os.linux,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,gnu.misc.discuss,comp.unix.solaris Subject: Re: unix acronyms -collecting a list? Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 16:10:24 GMT Organization: None Lines: 34 Message-ID: <339c2a14.7756419@news.zippo.com> References: <337C64F0.41C6@cs.ucc.ie> <5lsbv4$id8@bmtlh10.bnr.ca> <3383FA57.4855@uab.ericsson.se> <EAMxy9.EF4@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> <A01469D243A414B4.60EFD3C313DDF166.4A538EC778681837@library-proxy.airnews.net> <3396D1DD.6495@qanv.pbz> Reply-To: eric@gadgetguru.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.0/32.390 Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.shell:45881 comp.os.linux.misc:179579 comp.os.linux.x:63911 alt.os.linux:22072 comp.unix.bsd.misc:3539 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:42655 gnu.misc.discuss:31729 comp.unix.solaris:109091 On Thu, 05 Jun 1997 07:49:01 -0700, Michael Sierchio <xhqmh@qanv.pbz> wrote: >Mike Ellis wrote: > >> Sorry to spoil the fun but these are not acronyms. An acronym is an >> abbreviation which can be pronounced as if it were a word. How on >> earth does one pronounce tcsh ? Most TLAs (three letter acronyms) are >> not TLAs at all. In fact TLA is not a TLA itself. > >Speaking authoritatively means you should be right, but you know not >whereof you speak. A "pronounceable" acronym is what you describe, and >while in the US Armed Forces, many have spent sleepless nights coming >up with acronyms that met the pronounceable requirement. > >The definition of acronym, since you are too lazy or proud to >consult a dictionary: > >acronym > >Merriam-Webster's CollegiateŽ Dictionary > >ac.ro.nym n [acr- + -onym] (1943): a word (as radar or snafu) formed from the >initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a >compound term -- ac.ro.nym.ic adj -- ac.ro.nym.i.cal.ly adv If you read the above definition carefully, it begins with "a *word* formed from...", which certainly implies pronounceability, as do the two examples given. If an "acronym" is unpronounceable, then it is not an acronym at all, but a member of the more general class of abbreviations. E.