what do you call initials that stand for something
acronym An acronym
title: Identifier text: Identifier An identifier is a name that identifies (that is, labels the identity of) either a unique object or a unique "class" of objects, where the "object" or class may be an idea, physical [countable] object (or class thereof), or physical [noncountable] substance (or class thereof). The abbreviation ID often refers to identity, identification (the process of identifying), or an identifier (that is, an instance of identification). An identifier may be a word, number, letter, symbol, or any combination of those. The words, numbers, letters, or symbols may follow an encoding system (wherein letters, digits, words, or symbols "stand for" title: Acronym text: Acronym An acronym is a word or name formed as an abbreviation from the initial components of a phrase or a word, usually individual letters (as in "NATO" or "laser") and sometimes syllables (as in "Benelux"). There are no universal standards for the multiple names for such abbreviations or for their orthographic styling. In English and most other languages, such abbreviations historically had limited use, but they became much more common in the 20th century. Acronyms are a type of word formation process, and they are viewed as a subtype of blending. Whereas an abbreviation may be any type of title: Acronym text: the genitive case would be written as "BhBC Alba", with the acronym pronounced "VBC". Likewise, the Gaelic acronym for "television" ("gd: telebhisean") is "TBh", pronounced "TV", as in English. Acronym An acronym is a word or name formed as an abbreviation from the initial components of a phrase or a word, usually individual letters (as in "NATO" or "laser") and sometimes syllables (as in "Benelux"). There are no universal standards for the multiple names for such abbreviations or for their orthographic styling. In English and most other languages, such abbreviations historically had limited use, but they became much more common title: Namesake text: Namesake A namesake is a person named after another, or more broadly, a thing (such as a company, place, ship, building, or concept) named after a person. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a "namesake" is also defined as "a person or thing having the same name as another". The word is first recorded in the mid-17th century, and probably comes from the phrase "for [the, my, his, her] name's sake". In general, the second recipient of a name, named for the first, is said to be the "namesake" of the first. The attribution can, however, go in the opposite title: Acronym text: example, the terms "URL" and "IRA" can be pronounced as individual letters: and , respectively; or as a single word: and , respectively. The spelled-out form of an acronym or initialism (that is, what it stands for) is called its "expansion". Acronymy, like retronymy, is a linguistic process that has existed throughout history but for which there was little to no naming, conscious attention, or systematic analysis until relatively recent times. Like retronymy, it became much more common in the 20th century than it had formerly been. Ancient examples of acronymy (regardless of whether there was metalanguage at the time