Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word.
Wiktionary
Examples
“The plural of an initialism is the initialism plus s.”
“I recall a LONG time ago, when one of ALA's publication I think College & Research Libraries, but that could be wrong was redesigning its cover, they spent considerable time assuring that the new "initialism" graphic would not be sufficiently prominent to trigger a "title change.”
“initialism," the difference being it is an abbreviation using only first letters of words; an acronym being a new word created by the first letters, syllables or even arbitrary parts of the original words.”
“It has become a sorrowful S.O.P. nowadays to call any initialism an acronym.”
Find All The Acronyms In Word Documents | Lifehacker Australia
“A few weeks ago, a story flashed across my computer screen about bisphenol A, the plastic additive better known by its initialism BPA.”
“So an initialism becomes a new entity, a noun in its own right, demanding - s at the end of its plural like most of its neighbours have.”
Plurals of acronyms, abbreviations, initialisms and single letters
“Strictly speaking, DVD is not an acronym but an initialism (though the distinction is not always made).”
Plurals of acronyms, abbreviations, initialisms and single letters
“AZ, an initialism for Alkmaar Zaanstreek, is a football club from Alkmaar, the Netherlands.”
“The essence of Smashing Pumpkins has returned in the form of Silversun Pickups, a Los Angeles outfit that seems to prefer the initialism "SSPU" for embarrassingly obvious reasons.”
“Is the acronym/initialism thing listed in your King of Anglophonia series?”
Lists
‘initialism’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
dontcry I thought is was a form of government practiced by lawyers. "Initial here, and here, and here and.... Jul 27, 2009
denvan Wordnik definition (via AHD)
NOUN: An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word.
http://www.wordnik.com/words/initialism Jul 27, 2009
denvan Best definition:
NOUN: an abbreviation formed from initial letters
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initialism Jul 27, 2009