We explain what an acronym is, a list of examples of this type of abbreviation and what are its differences with an acronym.
What is an acronym?
An acronym is understood to be an abbreviation or set of acronyms that, due to its frequent use, ends up being incorporated as one more word, to the point that many persons they ignore its origin or the exact meaning of the terms it groups.
For example, the termTo be comes from the meeting of the acronym in English: LightAmplification by Stimulated Emission ofRadiation (that is: Amplification of the Light by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), but it is used ordinarily as a common word (note even how it carries accent in Spanish).
These are often words made up of fragments of two or more words, so they are not usually written in capital letters, as in the case of acronyms or initials, but in the ordinary sense of a common word. But the meaning of the acronym will be equal to the sum of the meanings of the words or terms that compose it.
Sometimes one can also speak ofretroacronyms, that is: words of ordinary origin and use, which are reinterpreted as acronyms due to their specific context of use.
Such is the case of the LawUSA PATRIOT o American Patriotic Act, which after being formulated was understood as an acronym for Uniting andStrengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required toIntercept andObstruct Terrorism (ie: "Unite and Strengthen the United States by Providing It the Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism").
Acronyms are not very common in the Spanish language, although they do have important historical precedents, such as the emergence of the pronounyou, whose origin comes from the initials v.s. ("Your mercy"), contracted invustandd.
List of acronyms
A list of examples of acronyms can be as follows:
- To be. Of English: LightTOmplification by Stimulated ANDmission ofRadiation ("Amplification of Light by Stimulated Emission of Radiation").
- Unasur.ORnion ofNationsSouthAmerican.
- Celarg.Chandle ofANDstudiosThetino-americansRomulusGalleges.
- Emoticon. Of English:Emotion + Icon (emotion + icon), and then Castilianized.
- UFO.ORobjectVodorNorIidentified.
- Radar. Of English:RagaveDetection tondRanging ("Detection and measurement of distances by radio").
- AIDS.SsyndromeInmunodefficiencyTOacquired.
- Led. Of English:LightANDmitting Diode ("Light emitting diode").
- Computing. Formed by the juncture ofInformauto actionAttica.
- UNESCO. Of English:ORnitedNationsANDducational,Sscientific andCulturalORrganization
("Cultural, Scientific and Educational Organization of the United Nations"). - Midi. Of English:MusicalInstrumentsDigitalInterface ("Musical Instruments Digital Interface").
- Cedemun.ECinside ofFromdevelopmentMunicipal.
- DNA YRNA. ÁacidDesoxirribonucleic andÁacidribonucleic respectively.
- Concacaf.WithfederationCI entertomericana andCaribe ofTOpartnershipsFutbol.
- Conmebol.WithSuda federationIRicana de Futbowl.
- Hi-Fi. Of EnglishHighFidelity ("High Fidelity").
- Unicef. Of English:ORnited Nations Children’s ANDmergency Fund (“United Nations Children's Emergency Fund).
Differences between acronyms and acronyms
While acronyms consist of the grouping of the initial letter of various terms to form an abbreviation that is written in capital letters (and is often separated by periods), acronyms allow a much freer joining of word fragments, whether initial or not. , to form a word whose terms are not separated and whose initial letter is only in uppercase.
- Writing of acronym. Sectur (SecI would challenge Turism),Telmex (TelephoniaMexicana) orCorpoMiranda (Corporation for the Development of the Tuy River Basin "Francisco de Miranda", S.A.).
- Writing of acronyms. UN (ORorganization ofNactionsORnests),HIV (Virus of theIimmunodeficiencyHumana) orCD (of English:CompactDisc, "compact disc").