Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 17 down vote favorite
2

If U.N. is the acronym of United Nations, then United Nations is the what of U.N.? Is there an opposite of acronym?

share|improve this question

4 Answers

up vote 27 down vote accepted
  • United Nations is an expansion of U.N.
  • United Nations is an expanded form or full form of U.N.

I say "an" because U.N. can represent things other than "United Nations."

I think more commonly we would say

  • United Nations is U.N. spelled out.
  • United Nations is what U.N. stands for.
share|improve this answer
up vote 6 down vote

Merriam-Webster defines acronym as "a word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term (as anzac, radar, snafu)."

Strictly speaking, U.N. is an initialism:

initialism, noun: An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word. [AHED]

So what the opposite of an initialism is depends on what it was formed from in the first place.

Since U.N. was formed from a name, saying "United Nations is the full name of the U.N." is probably the proper thing to do.

share|improve this answer
1  
did you not notice the rest of the Merriam-Webster definition for acronym, which says "an abbreviation (as FBI) formed from initial letters"? – nohat♦ Dec 27 '11 at 19:07
@nohat My edition of Merriam-Webster Unabridged does not; its definition of initialism does say "an acronym formed from initial letters ; especially : one (as RPG) that is pronounced as separate letters" – Gnawme Dec 27 '11 at 19:36
1  
@RandomIdeaEnglish Interesting. In Ch. 10.2, the Chicago Manual of Style does distinguish between acronyms, initialisms, and contractions as being different types of abbreviations. Odd that the terms are not in your dictionaries. Which, BTW, does not invalidate the conclusion of my answer. – Gnawme Dec 27 '11 at 20:07
1  
I was always taught that acronyms are words formed from initials, and MW is the only source that I've ever seen that doesn't define them that way. – Matt Hamilton Dec 27 '11 at 23:47
1  
@Gnawme Don't get me wrong - I was agreeing with you. I was just pointing out that those commenters who are using MW as a reference to argue that constructs like "U.N." are acronyms might need to find another source. – Matt Hamilton Dec 28 '11 at 2:05
show 7 more comments
up vote 4 down vote

You can say that United Nations is the full form of U.N.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

The definition for backronym in the Oxford US Dictionary online sheds some light on the antonym for acronym:

a fanciful expansion of an existing acronym or word, such as “port out, starboard home” for posh.

Notice that it is "a fanciful expansion". This seems to indicate that the antonym for acronym is expansion, based on backronym's definition in the Oxford US Dictionary online as a fanciful antonym of acronym.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.