An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term. English acronyms have been around since the 1940s. Early acronyms were NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), radar (radio detection and ranging), and laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).
The English word acronym was probably borrowed from the German word akronym. Akronym was derived from the Greek word akros, meaning topmost or highest, combined with the Greek word onyma, meaning name or word. Germans started using akronyms in the early 1900s. GESTAPO (Geheime Staatspolizei) is a familiar example to many English speakers.
An acronym is a kind of abbreviation that is pronounced as a word. ASAP is an abbreviation of as soon as possible. It qualifies as an acronym if it is said as a word, but if A-S-A-P is spelled out it is an initialism. FBI is an abbreviation of Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI is not an acronym but an initialism because it is not said as a word. However, many use the term acronym to mean initialism.
Abbreviations have multiplied in recent years because of text messaging. Until 2017, one text could include no more than 140 characters and 20 characters for a username. Abbreviations are still the trend today as people want to save their efforts and message on the go.
OK is technically an acronym, as it is used today. It seems to have originated around Boston as part of a fad of abbreviating misspellings in the late 1830s. OK was originally an initialism of ‘oll korrect’ as a misspelling of ‘all correct’. This origin was first described by linguist Allen Walker Read in the 1960s.
As an adjective, OK means adequate or acceptable as a contrast to bad. The boss approved this, so it is OK to send it out. However, OK can also refer to mediocre in contrast with good. The French fries were great, but the hot dog was just OK.
OK as an adverb means not bad. You did OK for your first time curling. It can also be used as an interjection to denote compliance. OK, I will do that. OK, that is fine.
When used as a noun OK implies assent. She gave her the OK to purchase whatever candy she wanted from the store. Sometimes OK functions as a verb indicating agreement. He OKed the draft copy of the document.
OK can also be used with appropriate intonation to indicate doubt (OK?) or seek confirmation (Is that OK?)
As an initialism, OK was popularized by the 8th President of the United States. In 1840 Martin Van Buren's campaign used the slogan ‘Vote for OK’. Martin Van Buren was given the nickname ‘Old Kinderhook’ because of his hometown of Kinderhook, NY. His followers join OK Clubs around the country. That campaign popularized the word and perhaps hijacked the story of its origin. There are still those who believe that ‘Old Kinderhook’ is the original meaning of OK.
Other theories about the origin of OK, indicate that it may have come from the Greek phrase ola kala, which can be translated as all good. Others claim OK may have come from a communion token that meant Old Kirk. Some maintain OK came from bakers stamping their initials on biscuits.
CCRAP was originally used for the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance Party, but the party later changed its name (for obvious reasons).
I still get confused by abbreviations in text messages. IMHO means ‘in my humble opinion.’ FWIW means ‘for what it’s worth.’ FOMO stands for ‘fear of missing out.’ SSDD means ‘same stuff, different day.’ TLDR means ‘too long; didn’t read.’
Grandma entered the texting era when she received a new smartphone. After a few days of experimenting with texting and using acronyms and initialisms, she sent a text to the family about her sister in Nova Scotia. “Your great aunt just passed away. LOL.” One brave youngster replied, “Why is that funny, Grandma?” “It’s not funny! Wht do you mean?” “Grandma, LOL means ‘laughing out loud!’” “OMG! I thought it meant ‘lots of love.’ Now I’ll have to call everyone.”
