Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

recursive acronym

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.78 in modern English

Syllables: re-cur-sive acronym
IPA

28

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

3

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An acronym in which a word (often the first) of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself.

Example Sentences

"I used the odd variable name “tato”, mentioning that it is a recursive acronym standing for “tato (and tato only)”. Using this fact you can expand “tato” any number of times."

Etymology

From recursive + acronym, originating in early hacker culture and later popularized by Douglas Hofstadter.

Inflected Forms

recursive acronyms (plural)

Phrases

RAS syndrome

Frequently Paired Words

macronym RAS syndrome

Rhymes With

acronym pseudo-acronym backronym anacronym macronym

Questions

What does recursive acronym mean?: An acronym in which a word (often the first) of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself.
Where does recursive acronym come from?: From recursive + acronym, originating in early hacker culture and later popularized by Douglas Hofstadter.

How to pronounce recursive acronym

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