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”) FUCK (“For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”) (folk etymology) MADD (“Mothers Against Drunk Driving”) POSH (“Port Out, Starboard Home”) (folk etymology) SAD (“Seasonal Affective Disorder”) USA PATRIOT Act WASH (“Water, Sanitation and Hygiene”)

backronym (plural backronyms)

1. A word that is originally not an acronym but is turned into one by devising a full form for it, sometimes as a folk etymology, sometimes as a contrived acronym to name a new organization, proposal, or other entity.
   • 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 or backronymming, simple past and past participle backronymed or backronymmed)

1. To create a backronym.

Further reading

• backronym on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “backronym”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.