Acronyms
Acronyms are constructed from the initial letters of a phrase, creating a new word that often simplifies communication. For instance, "radar" originates from "radio detection and ranging." While acronyms serve as a convenient linguistic tool, their history is relatively short, with usage emerging in the late nineteenth century. Notable examples include well-known organizations like the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and they are widely employed in various professional titles, such as CEO (chief executive officer) and PhD (doctor of philosophy).
The widespread adoption of acronyms can largely be traced back to military usage during World War I, with terms like AWOL (absent without leave) gaining popularity. Following this, public figures, such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, further entrenched acronyms in common parlance, exemplified by his moniker FDR. Today, acronyms are utilized across diverse fields, from psychology to marketing, and have even permeated popular culture through Internet slang, with abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) and YOLO (you only live once). This trend reflects a broader societal inclination towards linguistic efficiency.
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Acronyms
An acronym is a word formed from the first letters of each word in a phrase. For example, the word radar is actually an acronym for the phrase radio detection and ranging. Some acronyms have earned a place in English dictionaries and are often used instead of their original long-form phrases. Many organizations are known by an acronym, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Acronyms are also used professionally to abbreviate titles and degrees. Examples include chief executive officer (CEO) and doctor of philosophy (PhD). Acronyms have only a brief history, however, and weren't used in text or conversation before the nineteenth century.
Overview
Acronyms are a form of abbreviation, but an acronym shortens an entire phrase instead of just one word. People have been abbreviating complicated language since the dawn of printed text. Abbreviations have been used for hundreds of years in math, science, literature, philosophy, and other disciplines. People used metric prefixes, such as k (kila), d (deci), and c (centi), as far back as the 1790s. Jons Jacob Berzelius used abbreviations when he compiled the periodic table of elements in 1813. Telephone operators in the 1890s used abbreviations to record city names. People did not begin using acronyms, however, until the late nineteenth century.
During the American Civil War, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant was sometimes referred to as USG. This was one of the earliest uses of an acronym in popular language. The US Army is mainly responsible for the now widespread use of acronyms in everyday language. Though people used acronyms periodically throughout the 1800s, it was during World War I that acronyms became prevalent in language. During this time, the famous acronym AWOL—short for absent without leave—entered the English language. The trend continued when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, christened FDR by the media and public, took office in 1933. Roosevelt's acronym remained in use well beyond his years in office and continues to be used in modern discourse. Acronyms were also used in other aspects of his presidency. For example, Roosevelt's New Deal government programs often had lengthy names such as the Works Progress Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority, which were dubbed the WPA and the TVA.
Soon people in other disciplines began using acronyms. Psychologists used them to abbreviate complex mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Physicians, marketers, politicians, journalists, and a bevy of others also began using acronyms. The acronym also found its way into popular culture with the birth of Internet slang. Popular Internet acronyms included LOL (laugh out loud) and YOLO (you only live once). People in modern times increasingly rely on acronyms to simplify most, if not all, linguistic inconveniences.
Bibliography
Greene, Robert Lane. "OMG, ETC." Intelligent Life. The Economist, Inc. Web. 8 Jul. 2014. <http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/lane-greene/omg-etc?page=1>
Wiles, Kate. "The History of Abbreviation." The History Vault. The History Vault. 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Jul. 2014. <http://www.thehistoryvault.co.uk/the-history-of-abbreviation/>