Acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation that shortens a phrase by combining the first letter (or letters) of each word in the phrase to form a new pronounceable word. Here are some acronym examples:
- NASA, which stands for National Aeronautical and Space Administration. To form the acronym NASA, you take the first letter of each of the words in the phrase “National Aeronautical and Space Administration” and then pronounce the collection of letters as a new word—we pronounce the term as “nah-suh” and not the individual letters “N-A-S-A.”
- FOMO, which stands for “fear of missing out”
- LASER, which stands for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”
- RADAR, which stands for Radio Detection And Ranging
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Initialism
An initialism is another type of abbreviation similar to an acronym—but not exactly the same. Initialisms also use the first letter of each word in the phrase, but instead of combining the letters to form a new word, like with “NASA,” you pronounce each letter individually. Here...
Types of Abbreviations
Technically, acronyms and initialisms are types of abbreviations. Not all abbreviations, though, are acronyms or initialisms—those terms refer to specific types of abbreviations formed from taking the first letters of words in a longer phrase or name.
The real conf...
&
The extra letter is &. Known as an “ampersand,” this letter was originally the 27th letter of the alphabet, taking its place right after Z. The page pictured on the right from the 1863 book The Dixie Primer, For The Little Folks
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