scott@wuphys.UUCP (Scott Barthelmy) (03/29/85)
[] Below is a list of 928 acronyms and definitions. I post this in the hopes that others may find some use for it and in the hopes that I can elicit other acronyms from other people. I need this list to test out some software for acronym processing. If you have some existing file of such would you please mail to me. I'll even take single acronym replies as I expect I may get more that way then from existing large lists. I will collate all replies, merge them into the list below and repost it. It would be most useful if the acronyms sent are of a general nature. By that I mean would be recognized by someone outside of you particular group/division/project. If they are likely to appear in print in something more general than an in-house memorandum or tech report then they will be suitable for this compilation. Thanks. Scott Barthelmy "I am a child of the unixverse." ihnp4!wuphys!scott Washington U, Physics Dept. St. Louis, Mo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AA - Alcoholics Anonymous AAA - American Automobile Association AAAS - American Association for the Advancement of Science - A.A.A.S AAMSI - American Association for Medical Systems Informatics ABA - American Bar Association ABC - American Broadcasting Company AC - Alternating Current (ac, see also DC) AC - Ante Christum (before Christ) AC - Ante Cibum (before meals) ACTS - Advanced Communications Technology Satellite AD - After Date A/D - Analog to Digital converter (see ADC) AD - Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord) ADC - Analog to Digital Converter ADM - ADMiral AEC - Atomic Energy Commission AEF - American Expiditionary Force (see BEF) AF - Air Force AF - Audio Frequency AFB - Air Force Base AFC - Automatic Frequency Control AFLCIO - American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations AG - Adjutant General AG - Attorney General AI - Artificial Intelligence ALA - Automobile Legal Association ALC - Automatic Load Control ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit AM - Amplitude Modulation AM - Ante Meridiem (before noon) AMA - American Medical Association AMD - Advanced Micro Devices AMSAT - radio AMateur SATellite corp. AMVET - AMerican VETeran ANSI - American National Standards Institute ANSI - American National Standards Institute AO - Account Of AP - Additional Premium AP - Associated Press APB - All Points Bulletin ApJ - Astrophysical Journal - Ap J APO - Army Post Office ARC - American Red Cross ARCNET - Attached Resource Computer local area NETwork ARRL - Amateur Radio Relay League ARV - American Revised Version ASAP - As Soon As Possible ASHRAE - Amer. Soc. of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-cond. Engineers, inc. ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit ASSP - Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ASV - American Standard Version ATP - Adenosine TriPhosphate AUS - Army of the United States AWACS - Airborne WArnings and Control Systems AWK - al Aho, peter Weinberger, brian Kernighan (pattern scanning language) AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave BA - Bachelor of Arts BB - Bases on Balls BB - Best of Breed BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration BBB - Better Business Bureau BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation BC - Before Christ BC - British Columbia BCS - Bachelor of Commercial Science BD - Bachelor of Divinity BD - Bank Draft BD - Bills Discounted BE - Bill of Exchange BEF - British Expiditionay Force (see AEF) BER - Bit Error Rate BF - Brought Forward BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts BID - Bis In Die (twice a day) BIOS - Basic Input Output System BLT - Beacon, Lettuse and Tomatoe BM - Basal Metabolism BM - Bowl Movement BMEWS - Ballistic Missile Early Warning BMO - Ballistic Missle Office BMR - Basal Metabolism Rate BO - Body Oder BO - Branch Office BO - Buyer's Option BOQ - Bachelor Oficers' Quarters BP - Blood Pressure BP - British Pharmacopoeia BPOE - Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks BR - Bills Receivable BS - Bachelor of Science BS - Bill of Sale BSA - Boy Scouts of America BSc - Bachelor of SCience BSD - Berkeley Software Distribution BTL - Bell Telephone Laboratory BTU - British Thermal Unit BTW - By The Way BV - Blessed Virgin BWI - British West Indies BX - Base eXchange CA - Chartered Accountant CA - Chief Accountant CA - Chronological Age CAB - Civil Aeronautics Board CAD - Computer Aided Design (sometimes seen as CAD/CAM) CAE - Computer Aided Engineering CAM - Computer Aided Manufacturing (sometimes seen as CAD/CAM) CAP - Civil Air Patrol CATV - Community Antena TeleVision CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBD - Cash Before Delivery CBS - Columbia Broadcasting System CBW - Chemical and Biological Warfare CC - Corbon Copy CCC - Civil Conservation Corps CCC - Command, Control, and Communications CCCCM - CCC CounterMeasures (sometimes C^3CM) CCCI - Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence CCD - Charge Coupled Device CCI - Computer Consoles, Incorporated CCTV - Close Circuit TeleVision CD - Civil Defense CD - Compact Disk CD - Certificate of Deposit CDR - CommanDeR CDT - Central Daylight Time CE - Chemical Engineer CE - Civil Engineer CE - Corps of Engineers CENS - Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Seclay CF - Carry Forward CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics CFI - Cost, Freight, and Insurance CG - Coast Guard CG - Commanding General CH - ClearingHouse CH - CourtHouse CH - CustomHouse CID - Central Institute for the Deaf CID - Charge Injection Device CID - Computer Integrated Design CIM - Computer Integrated Manufacturing CIT - California Institute of Technology CIT - Case Institute of Technology (part of CWRU, Cleveland, OH) CLU - Chartered Life Underwriter CM - Congregation of the Mission CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor CMRR - Common Mode Rejection Ratio CMSgt - Chief Master Sergeant CNO - Chief of Navel Operations CNR - Carrier to Noise Ratio CNS - Central Nervous System CO - Cash Order CO - Commanding Officer CO - Conscientious Objector COBOL - COmmon Business Oriented Language COD - Collect On Delivery; Cash On Delivery CP - Chemically Pure CP - Command Post CPA - Certified Public Accountant CPFF - Cost Plus Fixed Fee CPM - Control Program Monitor (sometimes CP/M) CPO - Chief Petty Officer CPT - CaPTain CPU - Central Processor Unit CPW - Certified Public Weigher CQ - Change of Quarters CRC - Cyclical Redundancy Character CRT - Cathode Ray Tube (also generic refernce to a terminal) CS - Civil Servant CS - County Seat CSA - Confederate States of America CSM - Command Sergeant Major CST - Central Standard Time CT - Central Time CTIO - Cerro Tololo Inter-american Observatory CW - Continuous Wave CWO - Cash With Order CWO - Chief Warrent Officer CWRU - Case Western Reserve University CYO - Catholic Youth Organization CZ - Canal Zone DA - Days after Acceptance DA - Department of Agriculture DA - Deposit Account DA - District Attorny DA - Don't Answer DARPA - Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency DB - DataBase dbms - DataBase Management System (rdbms for Relational ...) DC - Direct Current (dc, see also AC) DD - Days after Date DD - Demand Draft DD - Dishonourable Discharge DD - DOctor of Dental Surgery DD - Doctor of Divinity DDC - Digital Data Converter DDS - Doctor of Dental Science DEC - Digital Equipment Corporation DEW - Distant Early Warning (as in DEW Line) DF - Damage Free DFC - Distinguished Flying Cross DFM - Distinguished Flying Medal DG - Dei Gratia (by the grace of God) DG - Director General DHSS - british Department of Health and Social Security DIY - Do It Yourself DJ - Disc Jockey DLA - Defense Logistics Agensy DLO - Dead Letter Office DMA - Direct Memory Access DMD - Doctor of Dental Medicine DME - Distance Measuring Equipment DMZ - DeMilitarized Zone DNA - DeoxyriboNucleic Acid DNA - Digital Network Architecture DOA - Dead On Arrival DOB - Date Of Birth DOD - Department Of Defense DOS - Disk Operating System DOT - Department Of Transportation DP - Data Processing DP - Displaced Persons (expelled from native land) DP - Double Play DR - Dead Reckoning DR - Dinning Room DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory (as opposed to static RAM) DRI - Digital Research, Incorporated DSM - Distinguished Service Medal DSO - Distinguished Service Order DSP - Digital Signal Processing DSP - Decessit Sine Prole (died without issue) DST - Daylight Savings Time DT - Delirium Tremens DTR - Data Terminal Ready DUT - Device Under Test DV - DeoVo lente (God willing) DVM - Digital Volt Meter DVM - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine DWI - Driving While Intoxicated DX - Distance (as in long distance rado communication) E - East ECC - Error Correction Code (corrects error in memory or transmission) ECG - ElectroCardioGram ECL - Emitter Coupled Logic (see also TTL) ECM - Electronic Counter Measure ECM - European Common Market EDP - Electronic Dta Processing EDT - Eastern Daylight Time EE - Electrical Engineer EE - Electrical or Electronics Engineer EEG - ElectroEncephaloGram EEPROM - Electrically erasable Programmable Read Only Memory EHF - Extremely High Frequency (30-300GHz) EKG - ElectroKardioGramm (see ECG) ELF - Extemely Low Frequency ELP - Emerson, Lake and Palmer (the rock band) EM - Enlisted Man (see EW) EMF - ElectroMotive Force EMT - Emergancy Medical Technician ENS - ENSign EPA - Environmental Protection Agency EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory ESA - European Space Agency ESE - East South East ESO - European Southern Observatory ESP - Extra Sensory Perception EST - Eastern Standard Time ET - Eastern Time ET - ExtraTerrestial ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival ETD - Estimated Time of Departure ETV - Education TeleVision EVA - ExtraVehicular Activity EW - Enlisted Woman (see EM) EW - Electronic Warfare FAA - Federal Aviation Agency FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the united states FAS - Free Alongside Ship FAX - FAcimile FB - Freight Bill FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation FCC - Federal Comunication Commission FDA - Food and Drug Administration FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FEPC - Fair Employment Practices Commission FET - Field Effect Transistor FFT - Fast Fourier Transform FHA - Federal Home Administration FICA - Federal Insurance Contributions Act FIFO - First In First Out (as in registers and buffers) FILO - First In Last Out (see also FIFO) FIO - Frequency In and Out FM - Frequency Modulation FO - Foreign Office FO - Forward Observer FOB - Free On Board FOC - Free Of Charge FOR - Free On Rail FORTRAN - FORmula TRANslation FOT - Free On Truck FOV - Field Of View FPC - Fish Protein Concentrate FPLA - Field Programmable Logic Array (see PLA) FPM - Feet Per Minute FPO - Fleet Post Office FPS - Feet Per Second FRS - Federal Reserve System FSLIC - Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation FTC - Federal Trade Commission FWD - Front Wheel Drive FWHM - Full Width at Half Maximum FYI - For Your Information GA - General Assembly GA - General Average GA - General of the Army GAR - Grand Army of the Republic GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GAW - Guarenteed Annual Wage GB - Great Britain GBIP - General Purpose Interface Bus GC - Gas Chromatograph (or Chromatography GCA - Ground Controlled Approach GCT - Greenich Civil Time GHQ - General HeadQuaters GHz - Giga HertZ (unit of frequency, 1,000,000,000 cycles per second) GI - Galvanized Iron GI - Geneeral Issue GI - Government Issue GISS - Goddard Institute for Space Studies GKS - Graphics Kernal System GM - General Manager GM - Guided Missil GMT - Greenich Mean Time GNP - Gross National Product GP - General Practissioner GPO - General Post Office GPO - Government Printing Office GPS - Global Positioning System GQ - General Quarters GRB - Gamma Ray Burst(er) GRO - Gamma Ray Observatory GSA - General Services Adminstration GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center GT - Gross Ton GWEN - Ground Wave Emergency Network Hb - HemogloBin HBM - Her British Majesty; His British Majesty HC - Holy Communion HC - House of Commons HCL - High Cost of Living HD - Heavy Duty HDA - Head Disk Assembly (in winchester disk drives) HDTV - High Definition Television HE - His Eminence; His Excelancy HEAO - High Energy Astronomical Observatory HF - High Frequency (3-30MHz) HP - Hewlett Packard, inc. HP - High Pressure HP - HorsePower HPGe - High Purity Germanium HQ - HeadQuarters HR - House of Representatives HRH - Her Royal Highness HRH - His Royal Highness HS - High School HST - Hawaiian Standard Time HT - High Tension (as in electric power transmission) HUD - Housing and Urban Development HUD - Heads Up Display Hz - HertZ (unit of frequency, cycles per second) IBM - International Business Machines, inc. IC - Integrated Circuit ICBM - Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ICJ - International Court of Justice ICRC - Internaltional Cosmic Ray Conference IE - Indo-European IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IF - Intermediate Frequency (as in IF stage) IGY - International Geophysical Year IHP - Indicated HorsePower ILS - Instrument Landing System IMF - International Monetary Fund INRA - Iesus Nazerenus Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews) IO - Input Ouput (sometimes I/O) IOOF - International Order of Odd Fellows IP - Innings Pitched IQ - Intelligence Quotient IRA - Irish Republican Army IRAS - Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRBM - Intermediate Range Ballistic Missil IRE - (old name for the now IEEE, which see) IRS - Internal Revenue Service ISEE - International Sun Earth Explorer (usually ISEE-3) ISO - International Standards Organization ISPM - International Solar Polar Mission ISRG - Independent Space Research Group ITU - International Telecomunications Union JBS - John Birch Society JC - Junior College JC - Joint Compound (plumbing) JCAC - Joint Civil Affairs Committee JCAE - Joint Committee on Atomic Energy JDS - John Dewey Society JES - John Ericsson Society JGR - Journal of Geophysical Research JMS - John Milton Society JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory JRC - Junior Red Cross JSRC - Joint Services Review Committee JTIDS - Joint Tactical Information Distribution Systems JV - Junior Varsity K9 - canine (K9 corps - army dogs) KC - Knights of Columbus KD - Kiln Dried KD - Knocked Down KHz - Kilo HertZ (unit of frequency, 1000 cycles per second) KI - Kiwanis International KO - Knock Out KP - Kitchen Police KPNO - Kitt Peak National Observatory KPO - KeyPunch Operator KS - King's Scholar LA - Low Altitude LADAR - LAser Detection And Ranging LAM - Master of Liberal Arts LAN - Local Apparent Noon LAN - Local Area Network LAR - Local Aquisition Radar LAT - Local Apparent Time LB - Light Bomber LBL - Lawrence Berkeley Labs LC - inductor-Capacitor circuit (as in filters, L is symbol inductance) LCD - Lowest Common Denominator LDEF - Long Duration Exposure Facility LED - Light Emitting Diode LEM - Lunar Excursion Modual LF - Low Frequency (30-300KHz) LH - Left Hand LH - Lower Half LHD - Litterarum Humaniorum Doctor (doctor of human letters) LI - Long Island LIFO - Last In First Out (see FIFO) LL - Late Latin LLB - Legum Baccalaureus (bachelor of laws) LLD - Legum doctor (doctor of laws) LM - Lunar Modual LMC - Large Magellanic Cloud (see SMC) LNG - Liquified Natural Gas LP - Low Pressure LPG - Liquified Petroleum Gas LPG - Low Pressure Gas LPN - Licensed Practical Nurse LRC - Logitudinal Redundancy Character LS - Left Side LS - Letter Signed LS - Locus Sigilli (place of seal) LSD - LySergic aciD LSI - Large Scale Integration LSS - Life Support System LT - Long Ton LT - Low Tension LTC - Leautenant Colonel LTJG - Lieutenant Junior Grade LTL - Less than Truckload Lot LUG - Local Users Group LZ - Landing Zone MARC - MAchine Readable card Catalog MBA - Masters Business Adminstration MC - Master of Ceremonies MCPO - Master Chief Petty Officer MD - Medical Doctor MD - Monts after Date ME - Mechanical Engineer MEd - Masters of EDucation MeV - Million Electron Volts MF - Medium Frequency (300-3000KHz) MF - Middle French MFA - Masters Fine Arts MG - Machine Gun MG - Major General MG - Military Government MHz - Mega HertZ (unit of frequency, 1,000,000 cycles per second) MI - Military Intelligence MIA - Missing In Action MIMD - Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second ML - Middle Latin MLD - Minimum Lethal Dose MM - Maryknoll Missioners MMU - Memorey Management Unit MO - Mail Order MO - Medical Officer MO - Modus Operandi MO - Money Order MOS - Metal Oxide Semiconductor MP - Melting Point MP - Member of Parliment MP - Metropolitan Police MP - Military Police(man) MPG - Miles Per Gallon MPH - Miles Per Hour MS - ManuScript MS - Master of Science MS - Military Science MS - Motor Ship MS - Multiple Sclerosis MSG - MonoSodium Glutimate MSL - Mean Sea Level MSS - ManuScriptS MST - Mountain Standard Time MT - Metric Ton MT - Mountain Time MTBF - Minimum Time Between Failures MUF - Maximum Usable Frequency (max freq during sunspot activity) MX - Missle eXperimental N - North NA - North America NA - Not Applicable NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NADGE - NATO Air Defense Ground Environment NAR - Nuclear Acoustic Resonance NAS - National Academy of Sciences NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Association NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization NB - Nota Bene NB - New Brunswick NBC - National Broadcasting Company NBFM - NarrowBand Frequency Modulation NBS - National Bureau of Standards NBVM - Narrow Band Voice Modulation NC - No Charge NCE - New Catholic Edition NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer NCR - National Cash Register NCV - No Commercial Value ND - No Date NDEA - Natioanl Defense Education Act NDSL - National Defense Student Loan NE - New England NEB - New English Bible NEI - Not Elsewhere Included NES - Not Elsewhere Specified NET - National Educational Telivision NF - No Funds NG - National Guard NG - No Good NHI - National Health Insurance NHI - National Health Insurance NIH - Natioanl Institute of Health NIM - Nuclear Instrumentation Modual (a std) NLRB - National Labor Relations Board NM - Nautical Mile NM - Night Message NM - No Mark; Not Marked NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance NNE - North North East NNW - North North West NOS - Not Otherwise Specified NP - No Protest NP - Notary Public NP - Noun Phrase NPN - NonProtein Nitrogen NRA - National Riffle Association NRC - National Research Council NRE - Non-Recurring Engineering (as in NRE costs) NRL - Navel Research Labs NRZ - Non-Return to Zero NS - Not Specified NS - Nuclear Ship NSA - National Sucurity Agency NSC - Natioanl Security Council NSF - National Science Foundation NSF - National Science Foundation NSW - New South Whales NT - New Testament NT - Northern Territory NTC - New York City NTP - Normal Temperature and Pressure (see STP) NTSB - National Transportation Safty Board NU - Name Unknown NUSC - Naval Underwater Systems COmmand NW - North West NWT - North West Territories NYSE - New York Stock Exchange NZ - New Zealand OA - Office Automation OAS - Organization Of American states OCS - Officer Candadate School OCLC - Online Computer Library Center (Ohio College Library Catalog) OD - Over Dose OD - Doctor of Optometry OE - Old English OED - Oxford English Dictionary OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer OEO - Office of Economic Opportunity OES - Order of the Eastern Star OF - Old French OFM - Order of Friars Minor OFS - Order of Free State OG - Original Gum OJT - On the Job Training ON - Old Norse OP - Observation Post OP - Order of Preachers OP - Out of Print OR - Operatng Room OR - Owner's Risk OROM - Optical Read Only Memorey OS - Oculus sinister (left eye) OS - Ordinary Seaman OS - Out of Stock OSB - Order of St. Benedict OSCAR - Orbiting Satelite Carry Amateur Radio (1st launched 12 Dec 1961) OSF - Order of St. Fransis OT - Old Testament OT - OverTime OTC - Over The Counter stocks OTH-B - Over The Horizon - Backscatter (as in radar) OTS - Officers' Training School PA - Per Annum PA - Power of Attorny PA - Press Agent PA - Private Account PA - Public Address PA - Purchacing Agent PBX - Private Branch eXchange (mini-telephone network system) PC - Personal Computer PC - Pease Corps PC - PerCent; PerCentage PC - Post Card PC - Post Cibum (after meals) PCB - Printed Circuit Board PCS - Permanent Change of Station PD - Per Diem PD - Police Department PD - Potential Difference PDQ - Pretty Damned Quick PDP - Programmed Data Processor PDT - Pacific Daylight Time PE - Physical Education PE - Printer's Error PE - Professional Engineer PE - Protestant Episcopal PE - Phase Encoded PHA - Pulse Height Analyser (or Analysis) PhysRev - Physical Review Journal - Phys Rev PLA - Programmable Logic Array PLL - Phase Lock Loop PM - PayMaster PM - Police Magistrate PM - Post Meridiem PM - PostMaster PM - PostMortem PM - Prime Minister PM - Provost Marshal PN - Promissory Note PO - PettyOfficer PO - Post Office PO - Postal Order POC - Port Of Call POD - Pay On Delivery POE - Port Of Embarkation POE - Port Of Entry POW - Prisoner Of War PP - Parcel Post PP - Past Participle PPB - Parts Per Billion PPC - Pour Prendre Conge' (to take leave) PPM - Parts Per Million PPN - parameterized post-Newtonianformalism for general relativity PPT - Pulse Pair Timing PQ - Province of Quebec PR - Puerto Rico PR - PayRoll PR - Public Relations PROM - Programmable Read Only Memory PS - PostScript PS - Public School PSG - Platoon Sargeant PST - Pacific Standard Time PT - Pacific Time PT - Physical Therapy PT - Physical Training PT - Patrol Torpedoe (as in PT boat) PTA - Parent-Teacher Association PTO - Please Turn Over PVO - Pioneer Venus Orbiter PW - Prisoner of War (usually POW) PX - Post eXchange QC - Queen's Council QD - Quaque Die (daily) QDA - Quantity Discount Agreement QED - Quod Erat Demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrated) QEF - Quod Erat Faciendum (which was to be done) QEI - Quod Erat Inveniendum (which was to be found out) QID - Quater In Die (four times a day) QM - QuarterMaster QMC - QuarterMaster Corps QMG - QuarterMaster General RA - Regular Army RA - Royal Academy RAAF - Royal Astralian Air Force RADM - Rear ADMiral RAF - Royal Air Force RAM - Random Access Memory RB - Rhythm and Blues (commonly R and B) RBC - Red Blood Cells RBC - Red Blood Count RBI - Runs Batted In RC - Red Cross RC - Resistor-Capacitor circuit (as in filters) RC - Roman Catholic RCAF - Royal Canadian Air Force RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police RD - Rural Delivery RD - Research and Development (commonly R and D) REA - Rail Express Agency REM - Rapid Eye Movement RF - Radio Frequency RFD - Rural Free Delivery RFI - Radio Frequency Interference RH - Right Hand RIP - Rest In Peace RLL - Run Length Limited RN - Registared Nurse RN - Royal Navy RNZAF - Royal New Zealand Air Force ROG - Receipt Of Goods ROM - Read Only Memory ROTC - Reserve Officers' Training Corps ROYGBIV - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet RPM - Revelutions Per Minute RPO - Railway Post Office RPS - Revelutions Per Second RPV - Remotely Piloted Vehicle RR - RailRoad RR - Rural Route RS - Recording Secretary RS - Revised Status RS - Right Side RS - Royal Society RSV - Revised Standard Edition RSVP - Repondez S'il Vous Plait (please reply) RSWC - Right Side up With Care RT - RadioTelephone RTTY - Radio Teletype RW - Right Worshipful RW - Right Worthy S - South SA - Salvation Army SA - Seaman Apprentice SA - Sex Appeal SA - Sine Anno (without date) SA - SOuth Africa SA - Subject to Approval SAA - South Atlantic Anomaly SAC - Strategic Air Command (see TAC) SAM - Surface to Air Missile SAP - Second Audio Program SBA - Small Business Administration SCADC - Standard Central Air Data Computer SDI - Stategic Defence Initiative SEC - Security Exchange Commission SEM - Scanning Electron Microscope SHF - Super High Frequency (3-30GHz) SI - Staten Island SIMD - Single Instruction, Multiple Data SJ - Society of Jesus SL - Salvage Loss SLA - Special Libraries Association SLAN - Sine Loco, Anno, (vel) Nomine (without place, year, or name) SLBM - Submarine Launched Ballistic Missles SMA - Sargeant Major of the Army SMC - Small Magellanic Cloud (see LMC) SMD - Storage Modual Device (interface standard for disk drives) SMD - Surface Mounted Devices SMERSH - Abbr. of Russian phrase meaning "Death to the spies." SMM - Solar Maximum Mission SN - Super Nova SNR - Signal to Noise Ratio SO - Seller's Option SO - Significant Other SO - Strike Out SOH - Start Of Header, ASCII contol character (dec=01,control-A) SOP - Standard Operating Procedure SP - Shore Patrol SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SPCC - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children SRB - Solid fuel Rocket Booster SRO - Standing Room Only SSA - Society Security Administration SSB - Single Side Band SSE - South-SouthEast SSG - Staff SeGeant SSI - Small Scale Integration SSR - Secondary Surveillance Radar SSTV - Slow Scan TeleVision SSW - South-SouthWest ST - Short Ton STD - Sacrae Theolgiae Doctor (doctor of sacred theology) STL - St. Louis (airport designation) STOL - Short TakeOff and Landing STP - Standard Temperature and Pressure (see NTP) SW - South West TAC - Tactical Air Command (see SAC) TB - TuBerculosis TBA - To Be Announced TC - Teachers College TD - TouchDown TD - Treasury Department TDY - Temporary DutY TIA - Thanks In Advance (special to USENET) TID - Tir In Die (three times a day) TKO - Technical Knock Out TL - Total Loss TLC - Tender Loving Care TM - TradeMark TMO - Telephone Mony Order TPC - The Phone Company TO - Telegraph Office TO - Turn Over TTL - Transistor Transistor Logic TTY - TeleTYpe TV - TeleVision TVA - Tennesee Valley Authority TWIMC - To Whom It May Concern TWT - Traveling Wave Tube TWX - TeletypeWriter eXchange UAR - United Arab Republic UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter UCSD - University of California at San Diego UFO - Unidentified Flying Object UH - Upper Half UHF - Ultra High Frequency UHF - Ultra High Frequency (300-3000MHz) UK - United Kingdom UL - Underwriter Laboratory UMT - Universal Military Training UN - United Nations UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization UNICEF - UNIted nations Children's Emergency Fund (now United Nat. Child. Fund) UNIX - Not an acronym at all. Was a joke on MIT's MULTICS. UPS - Uninterruptable Power Supply UPS - United Parcel Service USA - United States Army USA - United States of America USAF - United States Air Force USCG - United States Coast Guard USDA - United States Department of Agriculture USES - United States Employment Service USIA - United States Information Agency USM - United States Mail USMC - United States Marine Corps USN - United States Navy USO - United Service Organizations USP - United States Pharmacopeia USPS - United States Postal Service USS - United States Ship USSR - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics UV - UltaViolet UW - UnderWriter VA - Veterans Administration VAR - Value Added Remarketers VAT - Value Added Tax VAX - Virtual Address eXtended VCO - Voltage Controlled Oscillator VD - Venerial Disease VF - Video Freqency VFW - Volunteer Fire Department VG - Very Good VG - Vicar-General VHF - Very High Frequency (30-300MHz) VHSIC - Very High Speed Integrated Circuit VIP - Very Important Person VISTA - Volunteers In Service To America VJ - Video Jockey VL - Vugar Latin VLA - Very Large Array radio telescope in Arizona or New Mexico VLF - Very Low Frequency (3-30KHz) VLSI - Very Large Scale Integration VM - Virtual Memory VOA - Voice Of America VRC - Vertical Redundancy Character VTOL - Vertical TakeOff and Landing VVSS - Vertical Volute Spring Suspension W - West WA - Western Astralia WAC - Womens Air Corps WARC - World Administrative Conference WB - Water Ballast WB - WayBill WBC - White Blood Cells WC - Water Closet WC - Without Charge WCTC - Women's Christian Temperance Union WHBL - World Home Bible League WORM - Write Once, Read Many time WSI - Wafer Scale Integration WSW - West-SouthWest WU - Washington University WW - World War XD - without Dividend XL - eXtra Large XO - eXecutive Officer XMTR - transMiTeR (the X is for trans) XOR - eXclusive OR (logical function) XTAL - crysTAL (another version of x for crys, see XMTR) XSECT - cross SECTion YB - YearBook YMCA - Young Mens Christian Association YMHA - Young Mens Hebrew Association YOB - Year Of Birth YT - Yukon Territory YWCA - Young Womens Christian Association YWHA - Young Womens Hebrew Association Z - Zenith Z - Zero ZB - Zero Beat ZETA - Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly ZGS - Zero Gradient Synchrotron ZI - Zonal Index ZIP - Zone Improvement Plan (post office code) ZK - barrage balloon (navy symbol) ZPG - Zero Population Growth ZPRSN - Zurich Provisional Relative Sunspot Number ZST - Zone Standard Time ZT - Zone Time