backronym n.
[portmanteau of back + acronym] A word
interpreted as an acronym that was not originally so intended.
This is a special case of what linguists call `back formation'.
Examples are given under BASIC, recursive acronym
(Cygnus), Acme, and mung. Discovering backronyms is a
common form of wordplay among hackers. Compare retcon.
[portmanteau of back + acronym] A word
interpreted as an acronym that was not originally so intended.
This is a special case of what linguists call `back formation'.
Examples are given under BASIC, recursive acronym
(Cygnus), Acme, and mung. Discovering backronyms is a
common form of wordplay among hackers. Compare retcon.
Related:
- recursive acronym n.
A hackish (and especially MIT)
tradition is to choose acronyms/abbreviations that refer humorously
to themselves or to other acronyms/abbreviations.
The classic examples were two MIT editors called... - BASIC /bay'-sic/ n.
A programming language,
originally designed for Dartmouth's experimental timesharing system
in the early 1960s,
which for many years was the leading cause of brain... - recursive acronym:: pl.n. A hackish (and especially MIT) tradition
is to choose acronyms/abbreviations that refer humorously to
themselves or to other acronyms/abbreviations.
The classic examples were two MIT editors called... - mung /muhng/ vt.
[in 1960 at MIT, `Mash Until No Good';
sometime after that the derivation from the recursive... - BASIC: [acronym, from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction
Code] n.
A programming language, originally designed for ... - mung: /muhng/ [in 1960 at MIT, `Mash Until No Good';
sometime after that the derivation from the {{recursive... - Did you know that ACME is an acronym?
A Company that Makes ... - LPT /L-P-T/ or /lip'it/ or /lip-it'/ n.
1. Line
printer (originally Line Printing Terminal).
Rare under Unix, more common among hackers who grew... - Acura:
Another Case of a Useless Requested Acronym...
