anacronym
English
editEtymology
editPerhaps blend of anachronism + acronym but perhaps an- + acronym, in either case indicating an acronymic word that has lost much of its acronymic identity because people usually no longer focus on the etymonic origin when using the word.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /əˈnæk.ɹə.nɪm/
- Rhymes: -ækɹənɪm
- Homophone: anachronym
Noun
editExamples |
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anacronym (plural anacronyms)
- An acronym that is no longer seen as such, but instead treated as a regular word and styled in lowercase despite its etymological origin.
- When you write about using a waterproof laser pointer while scuba diving, you probably aren’t going to write about “a L.A.S.E.R. pointer for S.C.U.B.A. diving”, and you certainly aren’t going to write about “a light-amplification-by-stimulated-emission-of-radiation pointer for self-contained-underwater-breathing-apparatus diving”, because the words laser and scuba are anacronyms.
Usage notes
editDo not confuse an anacronym (such as radar or scuba) with an anachronym (such as lead pencil or tin foil), despite the homophony of the terms.
Derived terms
editSee also
editReferences
edit- “anacronym”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Categories:
- English blends
- English terms prefixed with an-
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ækɹənɪm
- Rhymes:English/ækɹənɪm/4 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms suffixed with -onym
- English terms suffixed with -nym