| An acronym is a type of abbreviation. According to Merriam-Webster, an acronym is a word (implying pronounceability), but allows for non-pronounceable acronyms (like FBI) as a secondary definition. M-W did teach me, though, a new word, which is the best one to use for these cases: "initialism". It dates to 1899. "Acronym" is not quite right, and "abbreviation" is too general -- I recommend "initialism" for future quizzes. |