ACRONYMS DICTIONARY
2D2-Dimensional
3D3-Dimensional
3MMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing
4GLFourth Generation Language
4HHead, Heart, Hands, Health
4WDFour wheel Drive (see also FWD)
AAftermath
AAAffirmative Action committee
AAAlcoholics Anonymous
AAAntiaircraft Artillery
AAAssociate in Accounting
A&AAstronomy and Astrophysics [Space]
AAAutomobile Association [England]
AAAAmerican Automobile Association
AAALAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters
AAASAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
AAIIAmerican Association of Individual Investors
AAMSIAmerican Association for Medical Systems Informatics
AAOAnglo-Australian Observatory [Space]
AAPAffirmative Action Program
AARCAnglo-American Cataloging Rules
AARNAustralian Academic Research Network [Networking]
AARPAmerican Association of Retired Persons
AASAmerican Astronomical Society [Space]
AAVSOAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers [Space]
ABABle seaman
ABAAmerican Bar Association
ABAAmerican Basketball Association
ABAAmerican Booksellers Association
ABBRABBReviation
ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company [Corporate name]
ACAlternating Current (ac, see also DC)
ACAnte Christum (before Christ)
ACAnte Cibum (before meals)
ACAAAgricultural Conservation and Adjustment Administration
ACAWSAdvisory, Caution, And Warning System
ACBLAmerican Contract Bridge League
ACCArgonne Code Center
ACCSArmy Command and Control System
ACDAutomatic Call Distributor [Telephony]
ACEAdvanced Composition Explorer [Space]
ACEAdvanced Computing Environments [Corporate name]
ACEAutomatic Calibration and Equalization
ACHEFTAutomated ClearingHouse Electronic Funds Transfer
ACKACKnowledge
ACLAdvanced Cmos Logic
ACLUAmerican Civil Liberties Union
ACMAssociation for Computing Machinery
ACRVAssured Crew Return Vehicle (or) Astronaut Crew Rescue Vehicle [Space]
ACSAdvanced Communications System
ACSEAssociation Control Service Entity (ISO/CCITT layer 7)
ACTAction for Children's Television (in Cambridge, MA)
ACTAmerican Conservatory Theater
ACTSAdvanced Communications Technology Satellite
ACTSAutomatic Coin Telephone Service [Telephony]
ACUAlarm Control Unit
ACUAutomatic Call Unit [Telephony]
ACWAlternating Continuous Waves
ADAfter Date
A/DAnalog to Digital converter (see ADC)
ADAnno Domini (in the year of our Lord)
ADApplication Development
ADAPAlzheimer's disease-associated protein
ADAPAmerican Discount Auto Parts [Corporate name]
ADBA DeBugger
ADBApple Desktop Bus
ADCAnalog to Digital Converter
ADCIAutomatic Display Call Indicator
AD&DAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons
ADFAutomatic Direction Finder
ADMADMiral
ADPAdenosine Di-Phosphate
ADPAdministrative Data Processing
ADPAdvanced Data Processing
ADPCMPulse Code Modulation with Adaptive Quantization
ADSApplication Development System
ADSRAttack Decay Sustain Release
ADTAbstract Data Type
ADTAtlantic Daylight Time
AEApplication Execution
AEAAmerican Electronics Association
AECAtomic Energy Commission
AEFAmerican Expeditionary Force (see BEF)
AEGISAdvanced Electronic Guidance and Instrumentation System
AFAdventures in Fantasy
AFAir Force
AFAudio Frequency
AFADSAutomatic Force Adjustment Data System
AFATDSAdvanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System
AFBAir Force Base
AFCAmerican Football Conference
AFCAutomatic Flight Control
AFCAutomatic Frequency Control
AFCACAir Force Computer Acquisition Center
AFCCAir Force Communications Command
AFGEAmerican Federation of Government Employees
AFIPSAmerican Federation of Information Processing Societies
AFLAmerican Federation of Labor
AFLAmerican Football League
AFLCIOAmerican Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
AFNORAssociation Francaise de NORmalization
AFPAppletalk Filing Protocol
AFSAndrew File System
AFSCAir Force Systems Command
AFSCMEAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
AFTRAAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists
AGAdjutant General
AGArcade Game
AGAttorney General
AGCTArmy General Classification Test
AGNActive Galactic Nucleus [Space]
AHLAmerican Hockey League
AHQAir HeadQuarters
AIArtificial Intelligence
AIAAAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [Space]
AICAutomatic Intercept Center
AIDAgency for International Development
AIDDEAmes' Interactive Dynamic Display Editor
AIDSAcquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome
AIODAutomatic Identification Outward Dialing
AISAutomatic Intercept System
AIXAdvanced Interactive eXecutive (IBM's name for UNIX)
AJAstronomical Journal [Space]
AKAlaska
AKAAlso Known As
ALAlabama [US state postal designation]
ALAmerican League (baseball)
ALAAmerican Library Association
ALAAutomobile Legal Association
ALBMAir-to-Land Ballistic Missile
ALCAutomatic Load Control
ALGOLALGOrithmic Language
ALITAutomatic Line Insulation Testing [Telephony]
ALPOAssociation of Lunar and Planetary Observers [Space]
ALSAdvanced Launch System [Space]
ALUArithmetic Logic Unit
A&MAgricultural and Mechanical
AMAmplitude Modulation
AMAnte Meridiem (before noon)
AMAAmerican Medical Association
AMAAutomatic Message Accounting [Telephony]
AMARCAutomatic Message Accounting Recording Center
AMBAAssociation of Master of Business Administration
AMCAlbany Medical College
AMCAmerican Motors Corporation(?) [Corporate name]
AMCAppalachian Mountain Club
AMDAdvanced Micro Devices [Corporate name]
AMEXAMerican EXpress [Corporate name]
AMIAlternate Mark Inversion (see also NRZ, NRZI, B8ZS)
AMORCAncient Mystic Order Rosae Crucis
AMPAdenosine MonoPhosphate
AMPASAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
AMPASAcedemy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
AMRAAMAdvanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile
AMROCAmerican Rocket Company [Space]
AMSATradio AMateur SATellite corp.
AMUAtomic Mass Unit
AMVETAMerican VETeran
ANAAmerican Nurses Association
ANACAutomatic Number Announcemnt Circuit [Telephony]
ANCAll Number Calling [Telephony]
ANCArmy Nurse Corps
ANDFArchitecture-Neural Distribution Format
ANFAutomatic Number Forwarding [Telephony]
ANGAir National Guard
ANIAutomatic Number Identification (see also: CLID) [Telephony]
ANLArgonne National Laboratory
ANOVAANalysis Of VAriance
ANPAAmerican Newspaper Publishers Association
ANSIAmerican National Standards Institute
ANZUSAustralia, New Zealand, United States
AOAccount Of
AOAAbort Once Around [NASA, Shuttle]
AOAAbort Once Around (Shuttle abort plan) [Space]
AOLAbsent Over Leave (see AWOL)
AOSAcademic Operating System
AOSAlternate Operator Service [Telephony]
A/PAccounts Payable
APAdditional Premium
APAll Points
APAssociated Press [Corporate name]
APAAll Points Addressable
APAAmerican Psychological Association
APBAll Points Bulletin
APDAApple Programmers and Developers Association
APIApplication Programming Interface
APICSAmerican Production and Inventory Control Society
Ap.JAstrophysical Journal [Space]
APLA Programming Language
APLacute promyelocytic leukemia [Disease]
APOAlpha Phi Omega, service fraternity
APOArmy Post Office
APPApplications Portability Profile
APPCAdvanced Peer-to-Peer Communications
APRAnnual Percentage Rate (as in loan interest)
APSEAda Programming Support Environment
APUAuxiliary Power Unit [Space]
AQAccumulator-Quotient register
A/RAccounts Receivable
ARAddress Register
ARArkansas
ARCAIDS-related complex
ARCAmerican Red Cross
ARCAmes Research Center (NASA) [Space]
ARCNETAttached Resource Computer local area NETwork
AROAfter Receipt of Order
ARPAddress Resolution Protocol
ARPAAdvanced Research Projects Agency (of the DoD, see DARPA)
ARPANET ARPA (q.v.) NETwork
ARRLAmateur Radio Relay League
ARVAmerican Revised Version
ASAnglo-Saxon
ASAAcetyl Salicylic Acid
ASAPAs Soon As Possible
ASCAccredited Standards Committee
ASCAPAmerican Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
ASCCAutomatic Sequence-Controlled Calculator
ASCIIAmerican Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASDICAnti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (British for sonar)
ASDSPApplication-Specific Digital Signal Processor
ASGAutomated Sciences Group
ASHRAEAmer. Soc. of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-cond. Engineers, inc.
ASICApplication Specific Integrated Circuit
ASMEAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASNAbstract Syntax Notation One (ISO/CCITT ASN.1)
ASPAggregated Switch Procurement
ASRMAdvanced Solid Rocket Motor [Space]
ASSRAutonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
ASTAtlantic Standard Time
ASVAmerican Standard Version
ATAtlantic Time
ATAAutomatic Trouble Analysis
ATACCAdvanced Tactical Air Command Central
ATBAdvanced Technology Bomber (stealth bomber)
ATCAir Traffic Control
ATDRSAdvanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite [Space]
ATFAdvanced Technology Fighter
ATISAtherton Tools Interface Specification
ATLASAtmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science [Space]
ATMAmateur Telescope Maker [Space]
ATMAsynchronous Transfer Mode
ATMAutomatic Teller Machine
ATOAbort To Orbit [NASA, Shuttle]
ATOAbort To Orbit (Shuttle abort plan) [Space]
ATOMSAT&t Optimized Materials Simulator
ATPAdenosine TriPhosphate
ATPCOAirline Tariff Publishing COmpany
AT&TAmerican Telephone & Telegraph [Corporate name]
ATTAmerican Telephone & Telegraph (normally written AT&T when seperate)
ATTISAmerican Telephone and Telegraph Information Systems [AT&T] (Division)
ATVAll Terrain Vehicle
AUAstronomical Unit (93,000,000 miles) [Space]
AUAstronomical Unit [Space]
AUIAttachment Universal Interface
AURAAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy [Space]
AUSArmy of the United States
AUTODIN AUTOmatic DIgital Network
AUTOVON AUTOmatic VOice Network
AVAudioVisual
AVLISAtomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation
AWACSAirborne Warnings And Control Systems
AWEAAmerican Wind Energy Association
AWKal Aho, peter Weinberger, brian Kernighan (pattern scanning language)
AWOLAbsent WithOut Leave (also Absent Without Official Leave) (see AOL)
AW&STAviation Week and Space Technology (a.k.a. AvLeak) [Space]
AXAFAdvanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility [Space]
AZArizona
BBook
B8ZSBinary 8 Zero Substitution (see also NRZ, NRZI, AMI)
BABachelor of Arts
BACHBusiness Alliance for Commerce in Hemp
BAFOBest And Final Offer
BARRNet Bay Area Regional Research Network (SF Bay Area)
BASICBeginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
BATSEBurst And Transient Source Experiment (on GRO) [Space]
BBBases on Balls
BBBest of Breed
BBBunnies and Burrows
BBABachelor of Business Administration
BBBBetter Business Bureau
BBCBritish Broadcasting Corporation
BBLBarrel
BBNBolt, Beranek, and Newman, Inc. [Corporate name]
BBXRTBroad-Band X-Ray Telescope (ASTRO package) [Space]
BCBattlecars
BCBefore Christ
BCBritish Columbia
BC/BSBlue Cross/Blue Shield
BCDBad Conduct Discharge
BCDBinary Coded Decimal
BCDICBinary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
BCEBefore the Common Era (substitute for BC)
BCNUBe Seeing You [Net jargon]
BCPByte Controlled Protocols
BCPLBasic Combined Programming Language
BCSBachelor of Commercial Science
BCSBinary Compatibility Standard
BCSBoston Computer Society
BCSBritish Computer Society
BDBachelor of Divinity
BDBank Draft
BDBills Discounted
BD&DBasic Dungeons & Dragons
BDFBinary Distribution Format
BDTBilling Data Transmitter
BEBill of Exchange
BEFBritish Expeditionary Force (see AEF)
BELCORE BELL COmmunications REsearch
BEMBug Eyed Monster
BEMBug-Eyed Monster [Space]
BENELUX BElgium, NEtherlands, and LUXembourg
BERBit Error Rate
BERTBit Error Rate Test
BESTBorland Enhanced Support and Training
BFBrought Forward
BFABachelor of Fine Arts
BFDBristol (RI) Fire Department (probably typical of any town starting "B")
BHBlack Hole [Space]
BHBoot Hill
BHPBrake HorsePower
BICSBuilding Industry Consulting Services [Telephony]
BIDBis In Die (twice a day)
BIMABerkeley Illinois Maryland Array [Space]
BIOSBasic Input Output System
BISBusiness Information System
BISDNBroadband ISDN (q.v.) [Telephony]
BiSyncBinary Synchronous Communications (BSC is preferred) [IBM]
BitBInary digiT
BITNETBecause It's Time Network
BLASTBLocked ASynchronous Transmission
BLERTBLock Error Rate Test
BLFBusy Lamp Field [Telephony]
BLTBacon, Lettuce, and Tomato (sandwich)
BLTBLock Transfer [Instruction]
BLTBranch Less Than [Instruction]
BMBasal Metabolism
BMBowel Movement
BMABank Marketing Association
BMEWSBallistic Missile Early Warning
BMOBallistic Missile Office
BMOCBig Man On Campus
BMRBasal Metabolism Rate
BNCBayonet Neill Concelman (connector) [Electronics] (see also TNC)
BNFBachus-Naur Form
BOBody Odor
BOBranch Office
BOBuyer's Option
BOCBell Operating Company
BODBoard Of Directors
BOFBirds Of a Feather
BOMBill Of Materials
BOOTPBootstrap Protocol [Internet]
BOQBachelor Officers' Quarters
BOSBusiness Office Supervisor
BOSIXBiin Open System Interface eXtension
BPBlood Pressure
BPBritish Petroleum
BPBritish Pharmacopoeia
BPIBits Per Inch
BPLBoston Public Library
BPLBranch if PLus [Instruction]
BPOEBenevolent and Protective Order of Elks
BPSBits Per Second
BRBills Receivable
BRBritish Rail
BRABoston Redevelopment Authority
BRIBasic Rate Interface (ISDN) [Telephony]
BRIEFBasic Reconfigurable Interactive Editing Facility
BRLarmy Ballistic Research Laboratory
BRSBibliographic Retrieval Service
BSBachelor of Science
BSBill of Sale
BSABirmingham Small Arms
BSABoy Scouts of America
BScBachelor of Science
BSCBinary Synchronous Communications (also sometimes BiSync) [IBM]
BSDBerkeley Software Distribution
BSNBachelor of Science in Nursing
BSSBlock Started by Symbol
BSTJBell System Technical Journal
BTBritish Telecom
BTAMBasic Telecommunications Access Method [IBM]
BThUBritish Thermal Unit (BTU {q.v.} is preferred)
BTLBell Telephone Laboratories
BTOBachman Turner Overdrive
BTUBritish Thermal Unit
BTWBy The Way [Net jargon]
BUBostonUniversity
BUFB-52 bomber ("Big Ugly Fellow") [USAF]
BVBlessed Virgin
BWIBaltimore-Washington International (airport)
BWIBritish West Indies
BXBase eXchange (see also PX)
ccenti- (metric 1/100)
Cprogramming language (successor to B, which was based on BCPL)
CACalifornia
CAChartered Accountant
CAChief Accountant
CAChronological Age
CACollision Avoidance (as in CSMA/CA (q.v.))
CABCivil Aeronautics Board
CACMCommunications of the Association for Computing Machinery
CADComputer Aided Design (sometimes seen as CAD/CAM)
CADComputer Aided Dispatching
CAECommon Applications Environment
CAEComputer Aided Engineering
CAIComputer Aided Instruction
CAISCommon Apse Interface Specification
CALSComputer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support
CAMComputer Aided Management
CAMComputer Aided Manufacturing (sometimes seen as CAD/CAM)
CAMContent Addressable Memory
CAMACentralized Automatic Message Accounting [Telephony]
CAMPCampaign Against Marijuana Planting
CAPCivil Air Patrol
CAPColumbia Appletalk Package
CARContents of the Address part of the Register (LISP)
CARECommittee on American Relief in Europe
CARPCalifornia Air Resources Board
CASEComputer Aided Software Engineering
CASSISClassification and Search Support Information System
CATComputer-Aided Tomography
CATISCommon Applications and Tools Integration Services
CATVCommon Antenna TeleVision
CATVCommunity Antenna TeleVision
CAVUCeiling And Visibility Unlimited
CBCitizens Band radio
CBCCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBDCash Before Delivery
CBDCommerce Business Daily
CBEMAComputer & Business Equipment Manufacturers Association
CBRChemical, Biological, Radiological warfare
CBSColumbia Broadcasting System [Corporate name]
CBWChemical and Biological Warfare
CCC (language) Compiler
CCCarbon Copy
CCAComputer Corporation of America [Corporate name]
CCAFSCape Canaveral Air Force Station [Space]
CCCCanadian Committee on Cataloging
CCCCivil(ian) Conservation Corps
CCCCommand, Control, and Communications (sometimes C^3)
CCCConcourseComputerCenter [MIT]
CCCCMCCC CounterMeasures (sometimes C^3CM)
CCCICommand, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
CCDCharge Coupled Device (see CID)
CCDCharge-Coupled Device [Space]
CCDSCenters for the Commercial Development of Space [Space]
CCFHundred Cubic Feet
CCIComputer Carrier Interrupt
CCIComputer Consoles, Incorporated
CCIPContinuously Computed Impact Point
CCIRNCoordinating Committee for Intercontinental Research Networking
CCISCommon Channel Interoffice Signaling [Telephony]
CCITTComite' Consultatif International Telegraphique et Telephonique
CCITTConsultative Committee on International Telephony and Telegraphy
CCITTInternational Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee
CCRCommitment, Concurrency, and Recovery
CCRCreedence Clearwater Revival [Music]
CCRICommunity College of Rhode Island [Corporate name]
CCRPContinuously Computed Release Point
CCSHundred Call Seconds [Telephony]
CCS7Common Channel Signalling (version #7) [Telephony, AT&T]
CCSACommon Control Switching Arrangement [Telephony]
CCTACentral Computer and Telecommunications Agency
CCTVClosed Circuit TeleVision
CDCarrier Detect (properly DCD (q.v.)) (EIA RS-232-C)
CDCertificate of Deposit
CDCivil Defense
CDCollision Detection (as in CSMA/CD (q.v.))
CDCompact Disk
CDACall Data Accumulator
CDACompound Documents Architecture
CDCCenters for Disease Control
CDCControl Data Corporation, Inc. [Corporate name]
CDEVControl panel DEVice
CDIACCarbonDioxideInformationAnalysisCenter
CDOCommunity Dial Office
CDRCommanDeR
CDRContents of the Decrement part of the Register (LISP)
CD-ROMCompact Disk Read Only Memory
CD-ROMCompact Disk Read-Only Memory [Space]
CDSFCommercially Developed Space Facility
CDTCentral Daylight Time
CDUControl Display Unit
CEChemical Engineer
CECivil Engineer
CECommon Era (substitute for AD)
CECorps of Engineers
CECustomer Engineer (see also FE, SE)
CEACommissariat a l'Energie Atomique (Frenc Atomic Energy Commision)
CEACouncil of Economic Advisors
CEACountyEducation Authority
CECCommission of the European Communities
CEDCommittee for Economic Development
CELSSControlled Ecological Life Support System [Space]
CENSCentre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Seclay
CENTOCENtral Treaty Organization
CEOChief Executive Officer
CERFnet California Education and Research Federation Network
CERNEuropean Organization for Nuclear Research
CERNorganisation (formerly Conseil) Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaires
CERTComputer Emergency Response Team
CEVICommon Equipment Voltage Indicator
CFCarry Forward
CFCoin First (payphone) [Telephony]
CFCystic Fibrosis [Disease]
CFACenter For Astrophysics [Space]
CFCChloro-FluoroCarbon [Chemical]
CFCCombined Federal Campaign
CFDComputational Fluid Dynamics
CFHTCanada-France-Hawaii Telescope [Space]
CFICost, Freight, and Insurance
CFLCanadian Football League
CFOChief Financial Officer
CGCoast Guard
CGCommanding General
CGAColor Graphics Adapter
CGCTCompagnie Generale de Constructions Telephoniques
CG&ECincinnati Gas & Electric
CGECompagnie Generale d'Electricite
CHCardboard Heroes
CHClearingHouse
CHCourtHouse
CHCustoms House
CHAChampions
CHAPCHAnnel Processor
CHARACenter for High Angular Resolution Astronomy [Space]
CHIChill:Adventures into the Unknown
CHOTSCorporate Headquarters Office Technology System
CHPCalifornia Highway Patrol
CICubic Inches
CIACentral Intelligence Agency [US Government]
CIACulinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)
CICCarrier Identification Codes [Telephony] (10XXX codes)
CICCommittee on Institutional Cooperation
CICCoordination and InformationCenter [CSNet]
CICACompetition in Contracting Act
CICSCustomer Information Control System [IBM]
CIDCaller ID [Telephony] (see also: CLID, ANI)
CIDCentral Institute for the Deaf
CIDCharge Injection Device (see CCD)
CIDComputer Integrated Design
CIDINCommon Icao Data Interchange Network
CIMComputer Integrated Manufacturing
CIOChief Information Officer
CIRRISCryogenic InfraRed Radiance Instrument for Shuttle [Space]
CISCComplex Instruction Set Computer
CITCalifornia Institute of Technology
CITCase Institute of Technology (part of CWRU, Cleveland, OH)
CITCircumstellar Imaging Telescope [Space]
CLASPComprehensive Logistics Automated Support Program
CLASSCustom Local Area Signaling Service [Telephony]
CLICommand Line Interpreter
CLIDCalling Line ID [Telephony] (see also: CID, ANI)
CLNPConnectionless-mode Network Protocol
CLNSConnectionless-mode Network Service
CLRCombined Line and Recording
CLRCCircuit Layout Record Card
CLUChartered Life Underwriter
CLUTColor LookUp Table
cmcentimeters
CMCommand Module (Apollo spacecraft) [Space]
CMCongregation of the Mission
CMCCommunication Machinery Corp.
CMDCentralized Message Distribution
CMIPCommon Management Information Protocol
CMISCommon Management Information Services
CMLCurrent Model Logic
CMMUCache/Memory Management Unit
CMOSComplementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (see MOS)
CMOTCommon Management Information Services and Protocol Over TCP/IP
CMRRCommon Mode Rejection Ratio
CMSCircuit Maintenance System
CMSgtChief Master Sergeant
CMUCarnegie-MellonUniversity
CMYKCyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK
CNCanadian National [Corporate name, Railroading]
CN/ACustomer Name / Address [Telephony]
CNICommon Network Interface [Telephony, AT&T] (Department of AT&T)
CNNCable News Network
CNOCarbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen [Space]
CNOChief of Naval Operations
CNRCanadian National Railways
CNRCarrier to Noise Ratio
CNRICorporation for National Research Initiatives
CNRSCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FrenchNationalCenter for Scientific Research)
CNSCentral Nervous System
CNSRComet Nucleus Sample Return [Space]
COCash Order
COCentral Office [Telephony]
COColorado
COCommanding Officer
COConscientious Objector
C/Oin Care Of
COBClose Of Business