==> language/english/etymology/acronym.s <==
The following is the list of acronyms which have become common nouns.
An acronym is "a word formed from the initial letter or letters of each
of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term" (Webster's Tenth).
A common noun will occur uncapitalized in Webster's Tenth.

Entries in the following table include the year in which they first
entered the language (according to the Tenth), and the Merriam-Webster
dictionary that first contains them.  The following symbols are used:

NI1	New International (1909)
NI1+	New Words section of the New International (1931)
NI2	New International Second Edition (1934)
NI2+	Addendum section of the Second (1959, same as 1954)
NI3	Third New International (1961)
9C	Ninth New Collegiate (1983)
10C	Collegiate - Tenth Edition (1993)
12W	12,000 Words (separately published addendum to the Third, 1986)

asdic	Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (1940, NI2+)
dopa	DihydrOxyPhenylAlanine (1917, NI3)
fido	Freaks + Irregulars + Defects + Oddities (1966, 9C)
jato	Jet-Assisted TakeOff (1947, NI2+)
laser	Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (1957, NI3)
lidar	LIght Detection And Ranging (1963, 9C)
maser	Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (1955, NI3)
nitinol	NIckel + TIn + Naval Ordinance Laboratory (1968, 9C)
rad	Radiation Absorbed Dose (1918, NI3)
radar	RAdio Detection And Ranging (ca. 1941, NI2+)
rem	Roentgen Equivalent Man (1947, NI3)
rep	Roentgen Equivalent Physical (1947, NI3)
scuba	Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (1952, NI3)
snafu	Situation Normal -- All Fucked (Fouled) Up (ca. 1940, NI2+)
sofar	SOund Fixing And Ranging (1946, NI2+)
sonar	SOund NAvigation Ranging (1945, NI2+)
tepa	Tri-Ethylene Phosphor-Amide (1953, 9C)
zip	Zone Improvement Plan (1963, 9C)

Below are blends that technically are also acronyms:

alnico	ALuminum + NIckel + CObalt (1935, NI2+)
avgas	AViation GASoline (1943, NI3)
biopic	BIOgraphical PICture (12W)
boff	Box OFFice (1946, NI3)
canola	CANada Oil + Low Acid (1979, 10C)
ceramal	CERAMic ALloy (ca. 1948, NI2+)
cermet	CERamic METal (1948, NI2+)
comsymp	COMmunist SYMPathizer (ca. 1961, 9C)
cyborg	CYBernetic ORGanism (ca. 1962, 9C)
dorper	DORset horn + blackhead PERsian (1949, NI3)
elhi	ELementary school + HIgh school (1948, 9C)
gox	Gaseous OXygen (1959, 9C)
hela	HEnrietta LAcks (1953, 9C)
kip	KIlo- + Pound (1914, NI2)
linac	LINear ACcelerator (1950, 9C)
loran	LOng-RAnge Navigation (ca. 1932, NI2+)
lox	Liquid OXygen (1923, 9C)
mascon	MASs CONcentration (1968, 9C)
maximin	MAXImum + MINimum (1951, 9C)
minimax	MINImum + MAXimum (1918, 9C)
modem	MOdulator + DEModulator (ca. 1952, 9C)
motocross MOTOr + CROSS-country (1951, 9C)
napalm	NAphthenic and PALMitic acids (1942, NI2+)
parsec	PARallax SECond (ca. 1913, NI1+)
redox	REDuction + OXidation (1828, NI2)
selsyn	SELf-SYNchronizing (1936, NI2+)
shoran	SHOrt-RAnge Navigation (ca. 1932, NI2+)
silvex	SILVa + EXterminator (1961, 9C)
sitcom	SITuation COMedy (1965, 9C)
teleran	TELEvision-RAdar Navigation (1946, NI2+)
telex	TELeprinter EXchange (ca. 1943, 9C)
vidicon VIDeo + ICONoscope (1950, NI3)
wilco	WILl COmply (ca. 1938, NI3)

Acronyms from other languages:

agitprop AGITatsiya + PROPaganda (Russian, ca. 1926, NI2+)
flak	FLiegerAbwehrKanonen (German, 1938, NI2+)
gestapo	GEheime STAatsPOlizei (German, 1934, NI2+)
gulag	Glavnoe Upravlenie ispravitel'notrudovykh LAGerei (Russian, 1974, 9C)
kolkhoz KOLlektivnoe KHOZyaistvo (Russian, 1921, NI2)
moped	MOtor + PEDal (Swedish, ca. 1955, 9C)
sambo	SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya (Russian, 1972, 9C)
tokamak	TOroidal'naya KAMera s AKsial'nym magnitnym polem (Russian, 1965, 9C)

Selected near misses:

athodyd	Aero-THermODYnamic Duct (1945, NI2+) -- blend
awol	Absent WithOut Leave (1919, NI2+) -- usually capitalized
benday	BENjamin DAY (1903, NI1+) -- blend
deet	Di-Ethyl Tolumide (1962, 9C) -- pronunciation of D. E. T.
dew	Distant Early Warning (1953, 9C) -- only in phrase "dew line"
echovirus Enteric Cytopathogenic Human Orphan VIRUS (1955, 9C) -- blend
hi-fi	HIgh FIdelity (1948, NI2+) -- hyphenated
ibuprofen Iso-BUtyl PROpionic PHENyl (1969, 12W) -- PH pronounced f
jaygee  Junior Grade (1943, NI3) -- pronunciation of J. G.
jayvee  Junior Varsity (1937, NI3) -- pronunciation of J. V.
jeep	General Purpose (1940, NI2+) -- pronunciation of G. P.
nazi	NAtionalsoZIalist (German, 1930, NI2) -- shorten & alter
nystatin New York STATe + -IN (1952, NI3) -- extraneous suffix
op-ed	OPposite EDitorial (1970, 9C) -- hyphenated
pixel	PIX + ELement (1969, 10C) -- blend
pj's	PaJamas (1951, NI3) -- punctuated
reovirus Respiratory Enteric Orphan VIRUS (1959, 9C) -- blend
sci-fi	SCIence FIction (1955, 9C) -- hyphenated
siloxane SILicon + OXygen + methANE (1922, NI3) -- blend
tradevman TRAining DEVices MAN  (ca. 1947, NI3) -- blend
updo	UPswept hairDO (1946, NI2+) -- blend
veep	Vice President (1940, NI2+) -- pronunciation of V. P.
warfarin Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation + coumARIN (ca. 1950, NI3) - blend
yuppie	Young Urban Professional + -PIE (1983, 9C) -- extraneous suffix

Acronyms that should be in Webster's Tenth:

fifo	First In, First Out (NI2+)
lifo	Last In, First Out (NI2+)
nomic	NO Metal In Composition (NI3) (John Bulten)
quango	QUAsi-Non Governmental Organization (12W)
shazam	Solomon Hercules Atlas Zeus Achilles Mercury (12W)
tacan	TACtical Air Navigation (12W)

Self-referential acronyms:

gnu	Gnu's Not Unix
nbi	Nothing But Initials
swan	System Without A Name

Supposed (but not real) acronyms:

fuck	For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
posh	Port Out, Starboard Home
spiff	Sales Productivity Incentive Fund
tip	To Insure (should be Ensure) Politeness (or Promptness)
wog	Worthy (Wealthy) Oriental Gentleman