acronym

Word formed from the initial letters and/or syllables of other words, intended as a pronounceable abbreviation; for example, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), radar (radio detecting and ranging), RAM (random-access memory) and FORTRAN (formula translation). There are other forms of abbreviation.

Many acronyms are so successfully incorporated into everyday language that their origin as abbreviations is widely overlooked. Full stops are not normally used in acronyms.

acronym

In music, any coded reference to a name using the letter names of notes to form a motif. The most widely quoted is B-A-C-H, playing on the German note names B (B♭)-A-C-H (B♮); Schumann's Abegg Variations (1830) is dedicated to a Meta Abegg; Berg's Chamber Concerto (1923–25) includes motivic references to himself and Schoenberg.

D-S-C-H is the acronym for Dimitri SCHostakowitsch (German spelling, S being ‘Es’ or E♭), the basis of a monumental Passacaglia on DSCH (1961–62) by Ronald Stevenson. Boulez's tribute to Paul Sacher in Messagesquisse (1977) incorporates the French ‘Re’ for R.

acronym

Abbreviation that can be pronounced as a word, for example RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) and MUD (multi-user dungeon). People in the computer industry often incorrectly refer to all abbreviations as acronyms. Both are frequently used as industry jargon and as shorthand to save typing on the Net. See also TLA (three letter acronym).