Monday, April 16, 2007

Acronym vs. Initialism

Learned an interesting tidbit today that I felt like passing on.

Do you know the difference between an acronym and an initialism? Well, neither did I until recently. I always thought that abbreviations like NASA, NATO, ABC, SUV, etc. were all the same but technically they aren't.

Abbreviations such as NASA or NATO are acronyms. Acronyms are pronounced as if the were a word.

An initialism such as ABC or SUV are abbreviations formed like an acronym but are pronounced letter by letter.

Interesting, non?

1 comment:

maggie moran said...

My favorites are RADAR and TCB. I'm sure you know RADAR, TCB is regional, distinctly southern. Do you have a clue?

Elvis' "Takin' Care of Business!" ;D

PS I'm likin' your blog!