[Ads-l] Gitmo (1945)

Fri Sep 23 11:54:24 UTC 2022

I routinely saw "GTMO" in the addressee line of radio-telegraph communications when I was in the Army in the late 80s. So, it was a standard abbreviation as late as that.

(I had nothing to do with Guantanamo and my service predates the prison there, but the base would appear in lists of military facilities copied on messages.)

-----Original Message-----
From: "Ben Zimmer" <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2022 4:35pm
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Gitmo (1945)

Here's a non-paywalled link to my Wall St. Journal column for this week:
https://on.wsj.com/3dyKQS7

I credited JL for his great research on "Gtmo."/"GTMO"/"Gitmo," and I also
managed to find a slightly earlier example of the "Gtmo." abbreviation,
from the same Cuban Health Department bulletin that was the source of JL's
1919 example.

---
https://books.google.com/books?id=TzRwPckfTmEC&pg=PA404
Salubridad y Asistencia Social, Oct. 1917, p. 404
Guantánamo 5 de octubre de 1917. [...] Dr. Villuendas. Comisionado
Especial. Jefatura L. Sanidad. Gtmo. Recibido su telegrama de hoy punto.
Ratifícole que el Dr. Espín continúa auxiliándole esa campaña acompañándolo
donde sea conveniente pues se le ha relevado de comisión que se le confió
en Baracoa. He ordenado pásese circular a casas de salud, clínicas y
Hospitales Provincia de Camagüey y Oriente preparen pabellones adecuados
para recibir palúdicos. Asimismo, he ordenado no se den altas enfermos
hasta que por periódicos exámenes sangre se demuestre completo
restablecimiento. F. Méndez Capote Director, Sanidad Y. B.
---

This reproduces the text of a telegram -- it makes sense that "Guantanamo"
was originally shortened to "Gtmo." for telegraphic purposes.

--bgz

On Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 11:16 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> In another bygone thread, Doug Wilson noted the variant spelling of
> "Getmo" and gave a cite from 1957.
>
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-May/050150.html
>
> Here's "Getmo" from 1946:
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109978374/getmo-bay/
> Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, Mar. 7, 1946, p. 21, col. 1
> Now he's 18 and has been in the navy 14 months.... he's at Getmo Bay,
> Cuba.
>
> The presence of "Gitmo" and "Getmo" early on supports the idea that we're
> dealing with pronunciation spellings of an abbreviation treated as an
> acronym.
>
> --bgz
>
> On Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 7:34 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Indeed, JL, I should have noted that you shared cites for the
>> "Gtmo./GTMO" abbreviation going back to 1919 as part of that 2010 thread.
>>
>>
>> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-February/096302.html
>>
>> You also wrote that "use of the word [Gitmo] is unlikely to antedate
>> 1942."
>>
>>
>> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-February/096316.html
>>
>> 1945 is still the date to beat for "Gitmo" as an acronym-style word
>> rather than the earlier abbreviation on which it was based. I'm
>> investigating the history of "Gitmo" for my Wall Street Journal column this
>> week, so any additional research findings would be much appreciated.
>>
>> --Ben
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 7:16 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Undoubtedly rather older. "Gtmo" had been a usual abbreviation for many
>>> years.
>>>
>>> 1919 _Salubridad y Asistencia Social_ XXI 221 [Google Books]: Gtmo. Sugar
>>> Co. 1920 _A List, with Brief Records, of the Alumni and Students of
>>> Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia, who Served in the World War_ (Richmond,
>>> Va.: pvtly. ptd.) 54: WHALEY, John Hughes (Ex. '18) : ... overseas 6
>>> months 7th Regiment, U. S. Marines, Cuba; 14 months Naval Dispensary,
>>> Gtmo.
>>> Bay, Cuba; 4 months U. S. S. Arkansas; promoted ph. m-1; discharged
>>> Receiving Ship, Washington, D. C, Aug. 5, 1919. 1933 _The Daily Gleaner_
>>> (Kingston, Jamaica) (June 10) 2: IN MEMORIAM In loving memory of my
>>> beloved
>>> husband, Richard E. Johnston, who fell asleep in the Arms of Jesus on the
>>> 10th June, 1931 at Gtmo, Cuba. 1945 _Troy_ (N.Y.)_ Record _ (Apr. 12)
>>> 20:
>>> Having volunteered for foreign duty, she was sent to the GTMO Naval Base
>>> in
>>> Cuba at the end of her basic training [in 1943].
>>>
>>> JL
>>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 12:04 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Bill Mullins previously shared two cites for "Gitmo" as shorthand for
>>> > "Guantanamo Bay" from 1947.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-November/055506.html
>>> >
>>> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-February/096311.html
>>> >
>>> > Here it is a couple of years earlier.
>>> >
>>> > ---
>>> > https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109793395/gitmo/
>>> > Boston Globe, Aug. 6, 1945, p. 5, col. 2
>>> > Martin Sheridan, "School in Jap Warfare Is Run at Guantanamo"
>>> > And during that month everyone must familiarize himself with every
>>> detail,
>>> > because once the ship shoves off for "Gitmo" she must undergo a
>>> gruelling
>>> > final examination.
>>> > ---
>>> >
>>>
>>

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