Backronym

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A backronym or bacronym is a type of acronym that is constructed to match the letters of an actual word appropriate in some fashion to the topic at hand. The word "backronym" is a portmanteau of back and acronym and was coined in 1983.

An acronym is a word created from the initial letters of a phrase: Random Access Memory becomes RAM, pronounced as the word ram, not as the individual letters. Some authorities distinguish between acronyms and initialisms, using the term acronym only when the use of initials has been assimilated and the initials are pronounced as if they were letters of an actual word.

1 Details
2 Types
3 Notes
4 See also
5 External links

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Details

The backronym is a technique in which a phrase is constructed which has as its acronym an existing short word. There are both official and generally serious, as well as unofficial and often humorous backronyms. When a backronym is peddled as the origin of a word, it is often an example of false etymology; when it is widely believed it may have the status of a folk etymology; but more usually it is intended and understood as a joke, when it would be classed as an example of false etymology.

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Types

Template:Unreferencedsect A pure backronym occurs when a sequence of letters is commonly understood to stand for a phrase that in fact had no role in its original conception. An example is SOS, the international distress signal that was chosen solely for its easy recognizability in Morse code, but which is often thought to stand for "save our ship", "save our souls" or something similar. An older distress signal, CQD, also has a backronym: "come quick, distress (or danger)." Another example is the word "wiki", from the Hawaiian word meaning quick. Since its application to consumer generated media, some have suggested that wiki means "What I Know Is".

Some backronyms are back-formed by replacing one or more words in an acronym with another, when the original meaning is deemed obsolete or inaccurate. For example, DVD originally stood for "digital video disc"; when it was noted that DVDs can store any digital data - video or otherwise - the term "digital versatile disc" was substituted. [1] (Because no agreement was reached about the various possibilities, DVD now officially stands for nothing.)

Another example is GSM, which originally started as an acronym for a French research group called "Groupe Spécial Mobile", but was later modified to stand for Global System for Mobile Communications. A well-known example in the United States is the SAT, which originally stood for "Scholastic Aptitude Test" but was changed to "Scholastic Assessment Test" after parent groups complained that the word "aptitude" implied that test scores reflected only innate talent and not preparation. Recently, it was changed again to officially stand for nothing. SAP originally stood for "Spanish Audio Program", but eventually came to be described as "Secondary Audio Program." GCC originally stood for "GNU C compiler", but compilers for various other languages have been added, and the acronym is now expanded to "GNU Compiler Collection."

Other backronyms are back-formed from an existing word that was not previously an acronym. Generally these 'backronyms' are apronyms, as the word used as the 'backronym' is relevant to the expanded phrase it stands for. The relevance may be either serious or ironic. Most apronyms are examples of 'backronyms'. An example of this is the word "acronym" itself which can be A Clever Representation Of Names You Manufacture. Apronyms may be used as a mnemonic device for remembering the underlying word. Many jocular (and often also derogatory) apronyms are created as a form of wordplay. An example of this is the former name for PC Card, PCMCIA: People Cannot Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms (it was originally an initialism for Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association), or the numerous backronyms constructed by conservative groups for the ACLU.

There are also false backronyms, in which letters are commonly, but inaccurately, thought to represent a phrase. An example is A.D., which stands for Anno Domini (Latin: "in the year of the Lord") and counts years since the birth of Jesus. However, many people incorrectly interpret its definition as 'After Death [of Christ]'. Another is R.I.P, which is actually an internationally used acronym for Latin Requiescat in pace, not an English acronym for "Rest in Peace", as often thought, although the Latin and the English phrases have similar meaning and the same initials. Also, RPG, now commonly used as an abbreviation of "Rocket-Propelled Grenade", actually originates in the Russian term Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot, meaning "handheld antitank grenade-launcher". The "ping" command used for checking network response, whose origin is debated, could be a backronym based on 'Packet INternet Groper'.

Moral conservatives in the US created backronyms for famous heavy metal bands that attempt to allude at "evil" or satanic content and perhaps that such meaning was originally intended by the musicians. Examples include KISS (Knights In Satan's Service)<ref>Brothers, Fletcher A.: "The Rock Report", 1987. Brothers cites a January 1980 American Photographer article as his source.</ref>, AC/DC (Anti-Christ/Devil's Children) or (After Christ, the Devil Comes), and Slayer (Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot)<ref>Ibid. Brothers further claims that this phrase is inscribed in the vinyl of the 'Show No Mercy' LP</ref>.

Some 'backronyms' are recursive acronyms like GNU, PHP or the pseudo-acronym JINI.

Other backronyms are constructed so that the expanded name will match a desired acronym. For instance, the USA PATRIOT Act ("Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act") was allegedly constructed to match the desired USA PATRIOT acronym by government staffers in the days following the September 11, 2001, attacks on America, although this has been officially denied.

Another popular backronym is from the computer game Doom, in which the really big gun is called a BFG, which came to stand as "Big F***ing Gun" (or "Big Friendly Gun") and in the movie adaptation: "Bio Force Gun."

Some backronyms exploit the bewildering acronyms in the corporate world. For example, the old Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, more commonly known as "PSFS," was subjected for years to the backronym "Pretty sh*tty f***ing stupid." And British travelers on the now-defunct Belgian carrier SABENA (originally an acronym for "Société Autonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne") often referred to it as "Such a bloody experience never again."

Another example is the Field Ration Eating Device (FRED), a small, versatile eating tool given to members of the Australian infantry, which is popularly believed to stand for F***ing Ridiculous Eating Device

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Notes

<references/> Or similarly, the Italian state airline Alitalia ("Always late in take-off and later in arrival")Or the Indonesian Airline Garuda ("Good and Reliable Until Delay Announcement) and the now defunct TAA which stood for Trans Australia Airlines but often referred to as "Try Another Airline".

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