The English language is full of abbreviations that serve to simplify long, complex terms, titles, and phrases. Many of them were created out of necessity at a time when people communicated with extremely limited character counts over telegrams or paper messages.
Acronyms and initialisms are two types of abbreviations. Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of the individual parts of a phrase. For example, “POTUS” stands for “President of the United States.” Initialisms are also formed from the initial letters of the individual parts of a phrase, but each letter of the abbreviation is pronounced, such as with “FYI” (“for your information”).
Some words and names that appear to be acronyms or initialisms don’t actually fall into either category. These terms are sometimes called “pseudo acronyms” because they don’t stand for anything and don’t have a meaning that can be expanded. Some pseudo acronyms were based on abbreviations at one point, but the original word or phrase is no longer used. Have you been fooled by any of these pseudo acronyms?
This alternate spelling for “barbecue” originated in the 1930s. While the term is usually written in capital letters, it’s not an acronym or initialism because the letters don’t stand in for any other words. Instead, it’s just a shorter way to write “barbecue.” This shortening may have developed as a function of needing to save space on roadside advertisements. “BBQ” is similar to “K-9,” a phonetic shortening of “canine.”
In the 1990s, the companies producing the DVD technology couldn’t agree on whether to call it a “Digital Video Disc” or “Digital Versatile Disc.” But they settled on the name “DVD” to simplify things for consumers. Since these initials could have multiple meanings, “DVD” is not a proper initialism.
In 2013, this organization stopped using its full name, the “Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,” and switched to the title “GLAAD” (pronounced like the word “glad”). While it’s the same spelling, the meaning has evolved — the change from an acronym to a title was enacted to include more members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Originally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, this fast-food chain rebranded to just its initials in 1991. The company admitted it wanted to de-emphasize the brand’s fried-food aspect. Other companies that have moved away from outdated names to initials include AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph), BP (British Petroleum), and AMC (American Classic Movies).
This initialism originally appeared as an abbreviation for “oll korrect” in the 1830s, when it was an editorial in-joke among writers. Then President Martin Van Buren adopted it as a reelection campaign slogan to stand for his hometown of “Old Kinderhook,” and it spread from there. Today, the word (used generally to express agreement) can be written as “OK” or “okay.”
Since its debut in 1926, the college admissions test has been renamed a few times. Originally, it was called the “Scholastic Aptitude Test,” then the “Scholastic Assessment Test.” According to the College Board, the name changes were intended to address the impression that the SAT measured innate intelligence that was “impervious to change regardless of effort or instruction.” Finally, it settled on the simple SAT branding.
This abbreviation has a few meanings: When discussing gaming, it can stand for “experience” or “experience points.” In the context of Windows XP, it refers to the experience of using the operating system.
