Recursive acronym

A recursive acronym is an abbreviation that recursively refers to itself in the explanation of its meaning . H. paradoxically, contains its own abbreviation as part of the written out term (see construction methods). Recursive acronyms are usually initial words . The term is also used for abbreviations that are not actually acronyms. Most recursive acronyms appear in free software projects .

Construction method 1

Real recursive acronyms can be constructed using a simple method:

1. Think of an acronym for your project, preferably one that you can pronounce:
   → z. B. A cronym- R ecursion- F Indians .
2. You add a letter to this acronym at the front, preferably so that you get a pronounceable, even better a meaningful word, for example with an N :
   → that results in NARF .
3. It is then used throughout the acronym as its first part
   → which it then to the N ARF A cronym- R ecursion- F Indians has become.

Construction method 2

1. Use a specific existing term that describes the project: e.g. B. great .
2. In turn, the first letter is S uper .
3. Starting with the second letter of the term, expand each letter to a word so that a meaningful term emerges, e.g. B. S uper U nited P rocedural E nvironment R elocator .

Recursive acronyms are not to be confused with an apronym or backronym .

Examples

D arcs	a dvanced r evision c ontrol s ystem
G NU	is N ot U nothing
J ACK	A udio C onnection K it
K IKO	i st not KO KA
L AME	A in't at M p3 E ncoder
N eo	e rgonomisch o ptimiert
P HP	H ypertext P reprocessor
P ine	I s N ot E lm
S pam	P osting A nnoys M e (a Backronym )
S PARQL	P rotocol a nd R DF Q uery L anguage
T ikZ	I st k a Z oak program
T ux	u ses X (possibly also a backronym )
V ISA	I nternational S ervice A ssociation
W INE	I s N ot to E mulator
X INU	I s N ot U nix
X NA	's N ot A cronymed
Y AML	A in't M arkup L anguage
Z inf	I s N ot F reeA * p
Z ope	O bject P ublishing E nvironment
HURD	H IRD of U nix- R eplacing D aemons
HIRD	H URD of I nterfaces R epresenting D epth (In this special case, both abbreviations together represent a recursive acronym because they refer to each other.)

No "real" recursions

Some closely related phenomena are not strictly recursive acronyms. Usually, the abbreviation occurs as a word in the written term. However, it does not mean itself, but a real word with the same spelling. With others, the recursion is generated by an alternative interpretation of the letters found later by a third party.

A NNA	A NNA is N ot a N A cronym
B AMs	B AMs in A ction and M otion
B LG	B LG L ogistics G roup (BLG actually stands for B remer L agerhaus G esellschaft)
B AND	B and U ENVIRONMENT and N aturschutz D erm e. V.
C ArL	C arl A lexande R L Erdorf, son of PHP father Rasmus Lerdorf
C AVE	C ave A utomatic V irtual E nvironment
H ELP Jamaica!	H elp E stablish L ibrary P rojects in Jamaica!
J oe	J oe's o wn e ditor
P ARTEI	P artei for A ork, R real state, T ierschutz, E lite promotion and grassroots I NITIATIVE
P NG	P NG is N ot G IF (joking abbreviation, PNG actually stands for Portable Network Graphics )
R PM	R PM P ackage M anager (Was originally R ed Hat P ackage M anager)
T AP	T AP A ir P ortugal (TAP actually stands for T ransportes A ereos P ortugueses)
T OP	T op O f the P ops

Individual evidence