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terminology - Is there a word for the definition of an acronym?


I can describe "IMHO" as an acronym for "in my humble opinion." How can I describe the reverse processes of translating the acronym into the actual phrase? That is to say, if "IMHO" is the acronym, what do we call "in my humble opinion"?



Answer



The spelled-out form of an acronym or initialism (that is, "what it stands for") is called its expansion.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym_and_initialism


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