Dodi Schultz
July 1st, 2005, 05:48 PM
Dan writes,
>> I thought some acronyms were full-fledged words (e.g., radar,
>> laser). They may have started out as abbreviations, but are no
>> longer such.
No contradiction here, Dan.
Acronyms are abbreviations that can be, and are, pronounced as words:
NAFTA, SALT, POTUS, DOS....
Some acronyms, like "radar" and "laser" (and "scuba" and some others) do
eventually become accepted as regular words. Other acronyms, like the ones
above, remain just acronyms.
--DS
>> I thought some acronyms were full-fledged words (e.g., radar,
>> laser). They may have started out as abbreviations, but are no
>> longer such.
No contradiction here, Dan.
Acronyms are abbreviations that can be, and are, pronounced as words:
NAFTA, SALT, POTUS, DOS....
Some acronyms, like "radar" and "laser" (and "scuba" and some others) do
eventually become accepted as regular words. Other acronyms, like the ones
above, remain just acronyms.
--DS