Re: RARA-AVIS: How about:

michael david sharp (msharp@umich.edu)
Tue, 16 Jun 1998 07:42:09 -0400 (EDT) This inquiry began w/ the assertion that "acronym" is not the right word.
Your definition is correct, but ACLU and MLA are not "words," that is, you
don't say them phonetically, which seems to be the criterion of an acronym
(M.A.D.D., U.N.C.L.E., NATO, NAMBLA, Nabisco [from National Biscuit
Company], etc.). Unless you call the ACLU "ack-loo."

Thanks to all who have tried to answer this question. "Initials" seems
weak to me, since it refers to the individual letters and not the unit,
but it'll have to do. Back to crime.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael D. Sharp Email: msharp@umich.edu
Department of English Lang. and Lit. Phone: (313) 761-8776
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Fax: (313) 763-3128

On Tue, 16 Jun 1998, Don Cannon wrote:

> Someone asked about a more specific term for abbreviations like ACLU
> and MLA. It's acronym, which is the word for words composed of the
> first letter of the parts of a phrase. I was surprised that Webster's
> 9th Collegiate used snafu as an example.
>
> Don
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