recursive acronym en · NOUN
Etymology
From recursive + acronym, originating in early hacker culture and later popularized by Douglas Hofstadter.
Meanings
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An acronym in which a word (often the first) of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself.
I used the odd variable name “tato”, mentioning that it is a recursive acronym standing for “tato (and tato only)”. Using this fact you can expand “tato” any number of times.
1983 April, Douglas R. Hofstadter, “Metamagical Themas”, in Scientific American, →ISSN, page 20:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| recursive acronyms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (5)
fr acronyme récursif (an acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself) · es acrónimo recursivo (an acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself) · pl akronim rekurencyjny (an acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself) · fi rekursiivinen akronyymi (an acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself) · nl recursief acroniem (an acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself)