I bet you’ve probably forgotten that the abbreviations you use every day are actually short for something else! Here are a few of them unpacked.
Taxicab = Taximeter + Cabriolet
Emoticon = Emotive (emotion) Icon
Emoticons can be traced back to 19th century satirists, but the contemporary digital emoticon was credited in 1982 to Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University.
Car = Carriage
Smog = Smoke + Fog
Velcro = The French Words "Velours" (Velvet) + "Crochet" (Hook)
This is what Velcro looks like up close, btw.
Tanzania = Tanganyika & Zanzibar
In 1964, The United Republic of Tanganyika joined with the islands of Zanzibar to form United Republic of Tanzania.
Motel = Motor (Motorists') Hotel
Microsoft = Microcomputer + Software
Movie = Moving Picture
Chortle = Chuckle + Snort
Taser = Thomas A Swift Electric Rifle
"Dont Thomas A Swift Electric Rifle me, bro"
Pixel = Picture Element
Vitamin = Vital + Amine
Coined in 1912 by the Polish biochemist Kazimierz Funk, the term comes from vital amine, meaning amine of life.
Bit = Binary + Digit
New York Knicks = Knickerbockers
The term refers to the style of pants worn by Dutch settlers in the 1600s. They were rolled up just below the knee and these came to be known as "knickerbockers" or "knickers."
Snark = Snide + Remark
Fan = Fanatic
OK = Oll Korrect??
NOBODY KNOWS!! Some theories include that it comes from an abbreviation fad that began in Boston in 1838 when humorists began using exaggerated misspellings. Some have suggested the term goes further back and is of Choctaw Indian and/or West African origin.
Cyborg = Cybernetic + Organism
Newt Gingrich = Newton Gingrich
His full name is actually Fig Newton Gingrich.
And one Tumblr user's brilliant finding:
Accurate.
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