This week’s theme
Words about words

This week’s words
anastrophe
auxesis
apothegm
anacronym
merismus

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(an-AK-ruh-nim)

MEANING:

noun: An acronym or abbreviation whose expansion is not widely known.

ETYMOLOGY:

Either a blend of anachronism + acronym, or from an- (not) + acronym. The word acronym is from Greek acro- (height, tip) + -nym (word, name). Earliest documented use: 1963.

NOTES:

As an acronym becomes an everyday word, it typically loses its uppercase form, for example, laser or radar. People use the word unaware that it’s an acronym:
laser = light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
radar = radio detection and ranging
The word is also used for acronyms known within a small group.

USAGE:

“‘Rats,’ said Tony.
‘What did I hear? Who said that’ The sergeant demanded.
‘R.A.T.S.’ Tony said. ‘Roll and Triage Session, it’s an anacronym.’
Robert Franklin Jackson; The Blues of Portsmouth P.D.; Xlibris; 2019.

“I use the anacronym BAD for her kind. Beautiful And Deadly.”
Ebony Olson; Protective Instinct; Eb&Muse; 2021.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: