Difference between revisions of "Abbreviation"
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*'''CBS''' for ''Columbia Broadcasting System'' | *'''CBS''' for ''Columbia Broadcasting System'' | ||
*'''KJV''' for ''King James Version.'' | *'''KJV''' for ''King James Version.'' | ||
| − | They are distinguished from ''acronyms'' in that initialisms are pronounced as individual letters, while acronyms are pronounced as if the letters spelled out a word (which they may in some cases do). | + | They are distinguished from ''acronyms'' in that initialisms are pronounced as individual letters, while acronyms are pronounced as if the letters spelled out a word (which they may in some cases do). (The use of the word "acronym" to include initialisms as well as acronyms is imprecise, but increasingly accepted). |
Revision as of 14:44, March 25, 2007
Initialisms are a form of abbreviation in which a phrase is abbreviated to the first letter of each word in the phrase; familiar examples include
- FBI for Federal Bureau of Investigation
- CBS for Columbia Broadcasting System
- KJV for King James Version.
They are distinguished from acronyms in that initialisms are pronounced as individual letters, while acronyms are pronounced as if the letters spelled out a word (which they may in some cases do). (The use of the word "acronym" to include initialisms as well as acronyms is imprecise, but increasingly accepted).