The alt.usage.english FAQ   

• "acronym"

  (Usage Disputes)
  
  Strictly, an acronym is a string of initial letters pronounceable as a word, such as "NATO". Abbreviations like "NBC" have been variously designated "alphabetisms" and "initialisms", although some people do call them acronyms. WDEU says, "Dictionaries, however, do not make this distinction [between acronyms and initialisms] because writers in general do not"; but two of the best known books on acronyms are titled _Acronyms, Initialisms and Abbreviations Dictionary_ (19th ed., Gale, 1993) and _Concise Dictionary of Acronyms and Initialisms_ (Facts on File, 1988).
  
  The Network Dictionary of Acronyms is available through World Wide Web (http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/acro.html) or by e-mail (send the word "help" to freetext@iruccvax.ucc.ie).
  
  Source: [Mark Israel, 'Usage Disputes: "acronym"', The alt.usage.english FAQ file,(line 1301), (29 Sept 1997)]
  
  
  
  

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