an abbreviation formed by using the first letters, or initials, of a series of words, for example BBC or IBM
an abbreviation pronounced as the names of the individual letters, and is formed only from the initial letter of constituent words, such as HTML
an abbreviation that is formed by combining the initial letter of each word in a multiword term
an abbreviation that is made up of the first letters of each word that is pronounced as the letters
a series of letters that make up the first letter of a word and which together cannot be pronounced as a word
a term created in the same manner but is not pronounced as a word
a "word" made from the first letters of each word in a phrase
The shortened form of a name or phrase made from the initial letters of words or syllables contained in that name or phrase. Not defined in all languages. SNCF is a French initialism that contains the initial letters of the Societe National des Chemins de Fer, the French national railroad. ESP is an initialism for extrasensory perception.