[Ads-l] An etymythology semi-endorsed by The New Yorker

[Shapiro, Fred]

I believe the earliest true acronyms were POTUS and SCOTUS.

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2024 7:44 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: An etymythology semi-endorsed by The New Yorker

I heard the same fifty years ago, and experience with texts since then
supports it.

The earliest true acronym (pronounced as a word, not initials) is/was
thought to be "DORA" ('Defence of the Realm Act') , from 1917.
Like so many acronyms since, it came from politics and government.

JL

On Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 1:24 AM Martin Purdy <
00000bd8cf391c5b-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> I've seen it claimed that any assertions that a term originated from an
> acronym prior to 1900 are almost certainly spurious. I'd love to know if
> there are any documented examples from the 19th century or earlier.
>
> Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer
>
>   On Fri, 26 Jan 2024 at 14:01, Laurence Horn<laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> wrote:   [Faux acronym division]
>
> From an article on “Gratuity culture” and “the Tipping Point” (cute, that):
>
> By the seventeenth century, visitors to aristocratic estates were expected
> to pay “vails” to the staff. This might have lowered payroll for the estate
> itself. At least one aristocrat helped himself to some of this new income
> stream; he threw frequent parties to increase revenues. The system spread.
> English coffeehouses were said to set out urns inscribed with “To Insure
> Promptitude.” Customers tossed in coins. Eventually, the inscription was
> shortened to “tip.”
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fmagazine%2F2023%2F01%2F01%2Fhas-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C837fa688246d4d3c53cb08dc1e6c8ea7%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638418698824736189%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=1xK1nbp5HyU0ObmB71Z9P2geg9OSSsNcNB%2BFA2kUIgw%3D&reserved=0<https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/01/has-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point>
>
> Well, maybe, except that as far as I know there’s no evidence that any
> such urns were so inscribed. The plausible conclusion is that this is just
> one of many faux acronym tall tales, spread disingenously or not.  Will
> subsequent New Yorker pieces on golf and sex promote derivations from
> “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden” and “Fornication Under Consent of the
> King” respectively?  Of course the piece does distance itself a little way
> from the claim:  “...were said to…”. But Mr. Helfand’s piece still urns…er,
> earns our skepticism.
>
> LH
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C837fa688246d4d3c53cb08dc1e6c8ea7%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638418698824743995%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Qt%2FUY9aOFZbDgOEx0WcYeUGLhvxCchaXvH5lRVs1U70%3D&reserved=0<http://www.americandialect.org/>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C837fa688246d4d3c53cb08dc1e6c8ea7%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638418698824749316%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=e%2BX1sc8xkLvTmiyY2OTBsWv1lM1fdxhCG98jEM5nq50%3D&reserved=0<http://www.americandialect.org/>
>


--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandialect.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7C837fa688246d4d3c53cb08dc1e6c8ea7%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638418698824753744%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=g9uus7qtjLo%2FIcIqX1HPFvoG7OFyLXi0lYpQo%2BQgHIQ%3D&reserved=0<http://www.americandialect.org/>

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