Abbreviations and Acronyms



Many words are very popular in their Abbreviations and Acronyms , so much so that before long people tend to forget the full form of the word. However, in order to have a good command over the English language, it is essential that you know the full form of all abbreviated words. This chapter gives abbreviations that are either commonly used or are common in a particular field of activity.

Another dilemma that readers may face is whether to write abbreviations with or without full stops. Nowadays, abbreviations are increasingly being spelt without full stops when the words in question are spelt with all capital letters (AGM, TIE, VIP) or a mix of capital and small letters (BSc, Ms). But full stops are almost always used when the word is made up entirely of small letters (p.a., a.m., p.m.), since they are less easily recognisable as abbreviations rather than words in thi5 form. Shortened words or abbreviations consisting of the first few letters of words are generally spelt with a final full stop (co., Sept.).

Finally, if an abbreviation with a full stop occurs at the end of a sentence, another full stop is never added if the full stop of the abbreviation is the last character.

An abbreviation (from Latin brevis meaning short) is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase. For example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr. or abbrev.

In strict analysis, abbreviations should not be confused with contractions or acronyms (including initialisms), though all three are connoted by the term abbreviation in loose parlance.

Acronyms, initialisms and alphabetisms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name. These components may be individual letters (as in CEO) or parts of words (as in Benelux or Delmarva).

CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer.

The Benelux is an union in Western Europe that comprises three neighboring countries : Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States occupied by portions of three U.S. states : Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

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Here is the Complete List of Abbreviations and Acronyms.


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