Recursive acronym

A recursive acronym is an acronym which refers to itself in the expression for which it stands, similar to a recursive abbreviation. Though, because of their lack of a termination condition, perhaps a more accurate term would be circular acronym.

Computer-related examples

In computing, it soon became a hackish (and especially MIT) tradition to choose acronyms and abbreviations which referred humorously to themselves or to other abbreviations. Perhaps the earliest example in this context, from about 1977 or 1978, is TINT ("TINT Is Not TECO"), an editor for MagicSix. This inspired the two MIT Lisp Machine editors called EINE ("EINE Is Not Emacs") and ZWEI ("ZWEI Was EINE Initially"). (Note that in German "eine" means "one", in the feminine form, and "zwei" means "two".)

More recent efforts include:

• Allegro — Allegro Low LEvel Game ROutines
• CAVE — Cave Automatic Virtual Environment
• Cygnus — Cygnus, Your GNU Support (Cygnus says "Cygnus, Your GNU Sucks" is a backronym despite claims to the contrary)
• Emacs - Emacs Makes All Computing Simple (one of many acronyms)
• GEECS - GEECS for Electronics Engineering Computers and Science
• giFT — giFT: Internet File Transfer, unofficially: "giFT Isn't FastTrack"
• GiNaC — GiNaC is Not a CAS
• GNE — GNE is Not an Encyclopedia
• GNU — GNU's Not Unix
• Hurd - "HIRD of Unix-Replacing Daemons" where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of Interfaces Representing Depth".
• KIEL — Kiel Integrated Environment for Layout
• LAME — LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder
• LIAR, a Scheme compiler — LIAR Imitates Apply Recursively
• LINE - LINE is Not an Emulator, a utility to run Linux programs on Windows
• MICO — MICO Is COrba
• MINC — MINC Is Not C
• MINCE — MINCE is Not Complete Emacs
• MiNT — MiNT is Not TOS (later changed to "MiNT is Now TOS")
• MINT - MINT Is Not TRAC
• mung — Mung Until No Good (backronym, based on an earlier backronym "Mash Until No Good")
• Nagios — Nagios Ain't Gonna Insist On Sainthood
• NiL — NiL Isn't Liero
• PHP — PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (another backronym - originated as "Personal Home Page" tools)
• PLD — PLD Linux Distribution (originally "Polish(ed) Linux Distribution")
• PNG — PNG is Not GIF (another backronym - originated as "Portable Network Graphic")
• RPM — RPM Package Manager (originally "Red Hat Package Manager")
• Scaled — Scaled Composites: Advanced Link to Efficient Development
• SPARQL — SPARQL Protocol And RDF Query Language
• TIARA - TIARA Is A Recursive Acronym
• TINA — Tina Is No Acronym, or This Is No Acronym
• TINN — Tinn Is Not Notepad
• TRM — TRM Recognizes Music
• TTP — The TTP Project (from Dilbert)
• Wine — Wine Is Not an Emulator (or unofficially WINdows Emulator)
• Xinha — Xinha is not htmlarea
• XINU — Xinu Is Not Unix
• YAML — YAML Ain't Markup Language (initially "Yet Another Markup Language")
• Zinf — Zinf Is Not FreeA*p!

The GNU Hurd project is named with a mutually recursive acronym: "GNU" stands for "GNU is Not Unix", "Hurd" stands for "Hird of Unix-Replacing Daemons," and "Hird" stands for "Hurd of Interfaces Representing Depth."

Recursive acronyms appeared in a Dilbert comic strip, in which Dilbert states that the TTP project refers to The TTP Project (this is also a triply-redundant case of RAS syndrome).

A number of recursive acronyms are backronyms, which used to expand to a different string but whose expansion changed once the acronym was well-known, for one reason or another, to one which included the acronym itself. This includes at least PHP and RPM.

Other variations on this theme can be found in the following phrases from the electronics industry...

• LCD Display - Liquid Crystal Display Display
• IDC Connector - Insulation Displacement Connector Connector
• SIN Number - Social Insurance Number Number
• PIN Number - Personal Identification Number Number

Non-technical examples

Recursive acronyms are not limited to computing terminology. For example, some corporations have been named or renamed in this way:

• BWIA — BWIA West Indian Airways (formerly British West Indian Airways)
• OIL — Oil India Limited
• RESPECT - Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community, and Trade unionism (also a backronym)
• TAP Airlines — TAP Air Portugal (in Portuguese, TAP is acronym to Transportes Aéreos de Portugal and is not recursive)
• VISA — Visa International Service Association
• ZOMG - Zomg Oh My God

There are also some organizations that employ recursive acronyms:

• MOMS Club — MOMS Offering Moms Support

See also

• RAS syndrome (Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome)
• Acronyms
• Backronyms and list of backronyms