backronym

English

Alternative forms

• bacronym

Etymology

Blend of back +‎ acronym.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbæk.ɹəˌnɪm/

Noun

Examples
BASIC (“Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code”) MADD (“Mothers Against Drunk Driving”) SAD (“Seasonal Affective Disorder”) USA PATRIOT Act POSH (“Port Out, Starboard Home”) WASH (“Water, Sanitation and Hygiene”)

backronym (plural backronyms)

1. A word that is either not an acronym but is taken to be one and for which a full form is invented by back-formation, or is an acronym and for which an alternative full form is invented by back-formation.
   • 2018 March 14, Sarah Lewin, "Meet ‘Steve,’ the Aurora-Like Mystery Scientists Are Beginning to Unravel," space.com (retrieved 17 March 2018):

     [T]he phenomenon has been dubbed STEVE, a backronym that matches the name originally given by aurora watchers. (STEVE is short for "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.")

Derived terms

• backronymic

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支援頭文字, 支援头文字 (zhīyuántóuwénzì)

• Finnish: backronym, bakronyymi, jälkeenpäin muodostettu lyhenne
• French: rétro-acronyme (fr) m
• German: Backronym (de) n

• Japanese: バクロニム (bakuronimu)
• Korean: 배크로님 (baekeuronim)
• Swedish: backronym n
• Turkish: kısaltma ad

See also

• recursive acronym

Verb

backronym (third-person singular simple present backronyms, present participle backronyming, simple past and past participle backronymed)

1. To create a backronym.

Further reading

• backronym on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “backronym” in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press.