User:Jnestorius/Types of initialism

Table of types of acronym and initialism, with examples.

The Oxford English Dictionary uses "initialism" or "acronym" as appropriate in its etymologies, except that B.V.D. is " [Acronym f. the initial letters of the name of its manufacturers, Bradley, Voorhees & Day: the widely-held belief that B.V.D. stood for ‘babies' ventilated diapers’ is mistaken.] "

Source data from mainspace article

 * pronounced as a word or names of letters, depending on speaker or context:
 * IRA: ( or )
 * When used for Irish Republican Army, always pronounced as letters
 * When used for Individual Retirement Account, can be pronounced as letters or as a word
 * ((LOL))                                        LaughOutLoud
 * FAQ: ( or ) frequently asked questions
 * SAT: ( or ) Scholastic Achievement (or Aptitude) Test(s)
 * SQL: ( or ) Structured Query Language


 * pronounced as a combination of names of letters and a word:
 * CD-ROM: Compact Disc read-only memory
 * IUPAC: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
 * JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
 * PDFORRA: Permanent Defence Forces Other Ranks Representative Association
 * pronounced only as the names of letters
 * BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation
 * DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid
 * LED: light-emitting diode
 * OB-GYN: obstetrics and gyn(a)ecology or obstetrician and gyn(a)ecologist
 * pronounced as the names of letters that also sound like words
 * YRUU: Young Religious Unitarian Universalists
 * pronounced as the names of letters to distinguish it from the word the abbreviation forms
 * OIL: Oil India Limited, not a recursive acronym
 * pronounced as the names of letters but with a shortcut
 * AAA: American Automobile Association or anti-aircraft artillery
 * IEEE: (aɪ.trɪpəɫ.i) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
 * NAACP: (ɛn.dʌbəɫ.eɪ.si.pi) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
 * NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association
 * shortcut incorporated into name
 * 3M: originally Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
 * E³: Electronic Entertainment Exposition
 * W3C: World Wide Web Consortium
 * recursive acronyms, in which the abbreviation itself is the expansion of one initial (particularly enjoyed by the open-source community)
 * GNU: GNU’s Not Unix
 * HURD: HIRD of Unix-Replacing Daemons, where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of Interfaces Representing Depth"
 * VISA: VISA International Service Association
 * WINE: WINE Is Not an Emulator
 * pseudo-acronyms are used because, when pronounced as intended, they resemble the sounds of other words:
 * ICQ: "I seek you"
 * IOU: "I owe you"
 * OU812: "Oh, you ate one, too?", a Van Halen album
 * CQR: "secure", a brand of boat anchor
 * multidimentional acronyms:
 * GTK+: GIMP Tool Kit, i.e. GNU Image Manipulation Program Tool Kit, i.e., GNU's Not Unix Image Manipulation Program Tool Kit

Trivia

 * XSS vs CSRF "Cross" as X or C (though XSRF also found)
 * F1 vs FOCA "One" as 1 or O
 * CXO = Chief X Officer