Recursive acronym

A recursive acronym (synonymous with metacronym,[1] recursive initialism, and recursive backronym) is an acronym or initialism that refers to itself in the expression for which it stands. The term was first used in print in April 1986.[2]

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Computer-related examples

In computing, an early tradition in the hacker community (especially at MIT) was to choose acronyms and abbreviations that referred humorously to themselves or to other abbreviations. Perhaps the earliest example in this context, from about 1977 or 1978, is TINT ("TINT Is Not TECO"), an editor for MagicSix. This inspired the two MIT Lisp Machine editors called EINE ("EINE Is Not Emacs") and ZWEI ("ZWEI Was EINE Initially"). These were followed by Richard Stallman's GNU (GNU's Not Unix). Many others also include negatives, such as denials that the thing defined is or resembles something else (which the thing defined does in fact resemble or is even derived from), to indicate that, despite the similarities, it was distinct from the program it was based on.[3]

An earlier example appears in a 1976 textbook on data structures, in which the pseudo-language SPARKS is used to define the algorithms discussed in the text. "SPARKS" is claimed to be a non-acronymic name, but "several cute ideas have been suggested" as expansions of the name. One of the suggestions is "Smart Programmers Are Required to Know SPARKS".[4]

Notable examples

Noted examples include:

Mutually recursive or otherwise special

Non-technical examples

Recursive acronyms are not limited to computing terminology. For example:

Some organizations have been named or renamed in this way:

Fictional examples

Mnemonic Devices

A word that is formed by taking the initials of a phrase is only an acronym if the word is spelled that way for that reason. If the word exists first, and the phrase is simply a mnemonic device for remembering the word, then the word is not an acronym. An example is genealogy, the root word of genealogists. Although these are not acronyms, recursive or otherwise, they may appear to be recursive acronyms, because of mnemonic devices such as:

Genealogists Examine Needed Evidence At Lots Of Grave Yards[11]

Genealogists Evidently Needing Endless Ancestors Look Obsessively in Grave Yards[12]

References

See also