Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “backronym” come from?

backronym (English) comes from English acronym, from German Akronym, from Norwegian Bokmål -onym, from Ancient Greek ὄνυμα, from Ancient Greek ὄνομα, from Proto-Indo-European h₁nómn̥, from Proto-Indo-European h₃neh₃- — to name.

backronym (English): A word that is originally not an acronym but is...

Definitions

  1. A word that is originally not an acronym but is...

Ancestry of “backronym”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishacronymAn abbreviation formed by the initial letters of...
2GermanAkronymacronym
3Norwegian Bokmål-onym-onym
4Ancient GreekὄνυμαDoric and Aeolic form of ὄνομᾰ
5Ancient Greekὄνομαname; fame; noun, in the wide sense: referring to...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁nómn̥name
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃neh₃-to name

Words derived from “backronym”

  • bacronym
  • backronymic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃neh₃- →