[Ads-l] Query on Coinage of "Radar"

Fri Jan 29 19:01:18 UTC 2021

Fred Shapiro, Fred wrote:
>
> This is a terrific response to my query, Stephen.  But I am struggling
> to formulate a citation for the acronym usage in this document.
> Where does the dating appear?  Is this reprinted anywhere?
> The sentence toward the bottom where the acronym seems to
> appear is largely unreadable -- is there a better copy or a transcription
> of this letter anywhere?

Great work, Stephen.

Below is a Google Books link to a page within a report from the Naval
Research Laboratory. The page reproduces the letter from November 19,
1940 signed by H. R. Stark.

The bad news is that the digital reproduction of the reproduction is
terrible. (Maybe someone can directly access the NRL report.) The good
news is that the description below the reproduction contains the
relevant information, i.e., the date and author. Further, the report
can be cited. (Double check for typos and other errors.)

Year: 1979
Report Number: NRL Report 8300
Title: Evolution of Naval Radio-Electronics and Contributions of the
Naval Research Laboratory
Author: Louis A. Gebhard
Organization: Naval Research Laboratory, Washington D.C.
Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office
Quote Page 170

https://books.google.com/books?id=hogeAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA170&

[Begin excerpt]
THE WORD "RADAR"

The word "radar" was coined from "radio detection and ranging" one of
the titles used by NRL for this field of work, by LCDR F.R. Furth and
LCDR S.M. Tucker, who shared in responsibility for the Navy's original
procurement program. LCDR Furth (later RADM Furth) and LCDR Tucker
(later RADM Tucker), while on duty at the Navy Department, devised the
acronym and took action to put it into effect. The above letter, dated
19 Nov. 1940, signed by ADM H.R. Stark, then the Chief of Naval
Operations, made the word official.
[End excerpt]

Garson

> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 10:40 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Query on Coinage of "Radar"
>
> 18 November 1940
> serial 069120
>
> SG
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 10:32 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Query on Coinage of "Radar"
>
> Stack--Stark
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 10:31 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Query on Coinage of "Radar"
>
> Letter from Adm. Stack directing the use of "Approved Abbreviation" RADAR:
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radartutorial.eu%2F04.history%2Fpic%2Fletter*20stark.big.png__%3BJQ!!OToaGQ!6qbDDVmkY_ePRii3aD1FciOuxGRGs4dL2ibdLygDabfFYpIXqNkGmuMSKca3VJe-%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=7w6OTG9Fc%2F%2B7wny9%2FZrkI7ECgaKXcbD5D9waLH3OpC0%3D&reserved=0
> [https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radartutorial.eu%2F04.history%2Fpic%2Fletter*20stark.big.png__%3BJQ!!OToaGQ!6qbDDVmkY_ePRii3aD1FciOuxGRGs4dL2ibdLygDabfFYpIXqNkGmuMSKca3VJe-%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=7w6OTG9Fc%2F%2B7wny9%2FZrkI7ECgaKXcbD5D9waLH3OpC0%3D&reserved=0 ]
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2021 9:57 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Query on Coinage of "Radar"
>
> This is the kind of question that military buffs on this list might enjoy researching.  The term "radar" has a first use of October 1941 (from the New York Times) in the Oxford English Dictionary.  I think I was the one who contributed that citation to OED.  Various sources I have looked at say that the acronym was coined by the U.S. Navy in 1940.  Can anyone point me to publications using this term before October 1941?  Classified uses that were later reprinted or cited to would also be of interest to me.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org__%3B!!OToaGQ!6fL30oQ4y4T4Hc17C67_0L8AJ4ACxlZ8ftjJfeZoZz92Rfaih9zcC8nY37CA_2lw%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=jAwLTd88D6Vd1zaEMJme5vhxLDb1AnvL%2B6IGvoKkOQk%3D&reserved=0
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org__%3B!!OToaGQ!6qbDDVmkY_ePRii3aD1FciOuxGRGs4dL2ibdLygDabfFYpIXqNkGmuMSKZMIcM_O%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191265523%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=HIh9zYH8dbYCIDpZbYk9yu2AMtCsKD%2B6S91Y9bKRrtY%3D&reserved=0
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org__%3B!!OToaGQ!7nPd7nyeH8Os8lVQALFPf1td2-IB4XsZi7G_SItFjWdpBZaiWa1w7CjItEr4WUnZ%24&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191275474%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=a%2FLQgZLE9aIZjDCvCCbFQ5W8tskS7ONdwJ0G%2Byv2w%2Fk%3D&reserved=0
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7Ce51f1a386e8f4b41f04b08d8c46c2e06%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637475316191275474%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=DUr2pT23Hxt1iMQQvv2czMa9PK%2Fd%2FRcFF%2BwbM2QRr8o%3D&reserved=0
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org