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A three-letter acronym (TLA), or three-letter abbreviation, is as the phrase suggests an abbreviation consisting of three letters. The abbreviation for TLA, TLA, has a special status among abbreviations and to some is humorous since abbreviations that are three-letters long are very common and TLA is, in fact, a TLA.
Linguist David Wilton in Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends claims that "forming words from acronyms is a distinctly twentieth- (and now twenty-first-) century phenomenon. There is only one known pre-twentieth-century [English] word with an acronymic origin and it was in vogue for only a short time in 1886.
The word's true origin is unknown, but it existed in the Middle Scots period. [32] [33] News: The word news has been claimed to be an acronym of the four cardinal directions (north, east, west, and south). However, old spellings of the word varied widely (e.g., newesse, newis, nevis, neus, newys, niewes, newis, nues, etc.).
[6] Most reference works, including the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, supply an origin date of 1940–1944, generally attributing it to the United States Army. [citation needed] Rick Atkinson ascribes the origin of SNAFU, FUBAR, and a bevy of other terms to cynical G.I.s ridiculing the Army's penchant for acronyms. [7]
Reduction of a word to a single letter was common in both Greek and Roman writing. [3] In Roman inscriptions, "Words were commonly abbreviated by using the initial letter or letters of words, and most inscriptions have at least one abbreviation". However, "some could have more than one meaning, depending on their context.
The abbreviation is not always a short form of the word used in the clue. For example: "Knight" for N (the symbol used in chess notation) Taking this one stage further, the clue word can hint at the word or words to be abbreviated rather than giving the word itself. For example: "About" for C or CA (for "circa"), or RE.
Three letter agent Commonly used by users of online far-right forums, in reference to the numerous government agencies represented by three letter acronyms. [15] 12, Twelve The DEA or police concerned with investigating drug-related crimes. Originating from police radio codes, it is now often used by drug dealers as warning phrase.
abbreviation or word Latin translation usage and notes AB Artium Baccalaureus "Bachelor of Arts" An undergraduate bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. a.C.n. ante Christum natum "before Christ" "B.C." is commonly used in English instead to convey this meaning. ad. nat. delt.