Talk:List of initialisms
Is there a difference between initialisms and abbreviations, if so what is it? Dieter Simon 21:28 30 May 2003 (UTC)
An abbreviation is any shortening of a word or phrase, e.g.
- Mister -> Mr.
- Johannesburg -> Jo'burg
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization -> NATO
- Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation -> laser
- Weapons of Mass Destruction -> WMD
Only the last example (WMD) is an initialism, which is an abbreviation composed of the initial parts of words, all the parts being pronounced individually. NATO is not an initialism because it is pronounced as a single word, not as four individual letters. One or two of the above examples, depending on your definition, are also acronyms. My source for this explanation is the OED. -- Heron
I didn't realize that, many thanks, Heron, that's cleared that up --Dieter Simon
Why the heck the page is protected? -- Taku 16:42 31 May 2003 (UTC)
- Probably an accident - it's quite easy to protect a page by mistake, because the link to do so is right next door to other useful links. I've unprotected it now. --Camembert
Thanks. -- Taku