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Abbreviations explained

foundational

Normative Text

Explanations of abbreviations are available when first used.

Except when

  • the abbreviation is:
    • used so often it has become a word with its own dictionary entry, such as “scuba,” “info,” and “HTML”
    • used in a logo
    • included in a longer phrase, such as “brand DNA,” whose meaning needs to be defined to meet the non-literal language requirement.
Tests

This section is non-normative.

Procedure

For any abbreviation in the content:

  1. Check that an explanation is available for the first use of the abbreviation.
  2. For an abbreviation that has no explanation available, check that it is included in a dictionary intended for the general public.

Expected result

  • #1 or #2 is true.

Tests

This content needs to be written.

Key Terms

abbreviation

shortened form of a word, phrase, or name where the abbreviation has not become part of the language

This includes initialisms, acronyms, and numeronyms.

  1. initialisms are shortened forms of a name or phrase made from the initial letters of words or syllables contained in that name or phrase. These are not defined in all languages.
  2. acronyms are abbreviated forms made from the initial letters or parts of other words (in a name or phrase) which may be pronounced as a word.
  3. numeronyms are shortened forms of a word that use the first and last letters, with a number in between showing the number of letters left out.

Some companies have adopted what used to be an initialism as their company name. In these cases, the new name of the company is the letters (for example, Ecma) and the word is no longer considered an abbreviation.