[Dixielandjazz] OT AARP - No longer an acronym

[Stan Brager]

I guess I'll have to stop lurking and render an informed (my opinion)
decision.

Nancy is correct that and acronym is a word formed from the INITIAL letters
of a short phase. Examples of acronyms: DJML are the initial letters of the
"Dixieland Jazz Mail List", mpg are the initial letters of "miles per
gallon".

An abbreviation, on the other hand, is a shortened (or simplified) way a
indicating a word. Therefore, "tp" is an abbreviation of the word "trumpet",
"mi" is an abbreviation of mile, and so on.

Oddly, the term "etc." is both an acronym and an abbreviation.

Stan
Stan Brager
Trombonist-in-Training
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Adaywayne at aol.com>
To: <jerrygordon at juno.com>; <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 1:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] AARP - No longer an acronym


> According to the OED, an acronym is simply a word (pronounceable or not)
> formed from the initial letters of other words. So AARP (pronounces
"arpa"), ODJB,
> NORK, OMF, OKOM, ATRG, LABS, BWDGBF, CRK, DJML and so on ad infinitum, are
> all acronyms.
> Arn
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> In a message dated 12/5/03 1:29:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> jerrygordon at juno.com writes:
> That's very clever, Nancy, but I wouldn't brush off Bill's serious
> question quite so lightly. If it's pronouncable, i.e., if it's a "word,"
> it's an acronym. If not, it's an abbreviation.
>