A/D - Analog to Digital converter (see ADC) A/P - Accounts Payable A/R - Accounts Receivable AA - Affirmative Action committee AA - Alcoholics Anonymous AA - Antiaircraft Artillery AA - Associate in Accounting AA - Automobile Association (in England) AAA - American Automobile Association AAAAAA - the Association for the Abolition of Abused Abbreviations and Assinine Acronyms AAAL - American Academy of Arts and Letters AAAS - American Association for the Advancement of Science - A.A.A.S AAII - American Association of Individual Investors AAMSI - American Association for Medical Systems Informatics AAP - Affirmative Action Program AARC - Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules AB - ABle seaman ABA - American Bar Association ABA - American Basketball Association ABA - American Booksellers Association ABC - American Broadcasting Company AC - Alternating Current (ac, see also DC) AC - Ante Christum (before Christ) AC - Ante Cibum (before meals) ACAA - Agricultural Conservation and Adjustment Administration ACBL - American Contract Bridge League ACBL - American Contract Bridge League ACE - Automatic Calibration and Equalization ACM - Association for Computing Machinery ACTS - Advanced Communications Technology Satellite ACW - Alternating Continuous Waves AD - After Date AD - Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord) ADC - Analog to Digital Converter ADF - Automatic Direction Finder ADM - ADMiral ADP - Adenosine Di-Phosphate ADT - Atlantic Daylight Time AEC - Atomic Energy Commission AEF - American Expeditionary Force (see BEF) AF - Air Force AF - Audio Frequency AFB - Air Force Base AFC - American Football Conference AFC - Automatic Flight Control AFC - Automatic Frequency Control AFIPS - American Federation of Information Processing Societies AFLCIO - American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations AFSC - Air Force Systems Command AFTRA - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists AG - Adjutant General AG - Attorney General AGCT - Army General Classification Test AH - Avalon Hill (major wargame manufacturer) AHL - American Hockey League AHQ - Air HeadQuaters AI - Artificial Intelligence AIAA - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AID - Agency for International Development AIDS - Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrom AL - American League (baseball) ALA - American Library Association ALA - Automobile Legal Association ALBM - Air-to-Land Ballistic Missile ALC - Automatic Load Control ALGOL - ALGOrithmic Language ALGOL - ALGOrithmic Language ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit AM - Amplitude Modulation AM - Ante Meridiem (before noon) AMA - American Medical Association AMBA - Association of Master of Business Administration AMC - Albany Medical College AMD - Advanced Micro Devices AMORC - Ancient Mystic Order Rosae Crucis AMP - Adenosine MonoPhosphate AMP - Adenosine MonoPhosphate AMPAS - Acedemy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences AMRAAM - Advanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile AMSAT - radio AMateur SATellite corp. AMU - Atomic Mass Unit AMVET - AMerican VETeran ANC - Army Nurse Corps ANG - Air National Guard ANOVA - ANalysis Of VAriance ANPA - American Newspaper Publishers Association ANSI - American National Standards Institute ANZUS - Australia, New Zealand, United States AO - Account Of AOL - Absent Over Leave (see AWOL) AP - Additional Premium AP - Associated Press APB - All Points Bulletin APO - Army Post Office APR - Annual Percentage Rate (as in loan interest) AQ - Accumulator-Quotient register AR - Address Register ARC - American Red Cross ARCNET - Attached Resource Computer local area NETwork ARO - After Receipt of Order ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency ARRL - Amateur Radio Relay League ARV - American Revised Version ASAP - As Soon As Possible ASCAP - American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange ASDIC - Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (British for sonar) ASHRAE - Amer. Soc. of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-cond. Engineers, inc. ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit ASSR - Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic AST - Atlantic Standard Time ASV - American Standard Version AT - Atlantic Time AT&T - American Telephone & Telegraph ATB - Advanced Technology Bomber (stealth bomber) ATC - Air Traffic Control ATF - Advanced Technology Fighter 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 (also Absent Without Official Leave) (see AOL) ApJ - Astrophysical Journal - Ap J BA - Bachelor of Arts BASIC - Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code BB - Bases on Balls BB - Best of Breed BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration BBB - Better Business Bureau BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation BBN - Bolt, Beranek, and Newman BC - Before Christ BC - British Columbia BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge BCD - Binary Coded Decimal BCD - Binary Coded Decimal BCDIC - Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code BCE - Before the Common Era (substitute for BC) BCS - Bachelor of Commercial Science BD - Bachelor of Divinity BD - Bank Draft BD - Bills Discounted BE - Bill of Exchange BEF - British Expeditionary Force (see AEF) BEM - Bug Eyed Monster BENELUX - BElgium, NEtherlands, and LUXembourg BER - Bit Error Rate BF - Brought Forward BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts BHP - Brake HorsePower BID - Bis In Die (twice a day) BIOS - Basic Input Output System BLT - Bacon Lettuce & Tomato BLT - Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato BLT - Becon, Lettuce and Tomato BM - Basal Metabolism BM - Bowel Movement BMA - Bank Marketing Association BMEWS - Ballistic Missile Early Warning BMO - Ballistic Missile Office BMR - Basal Metabolism Rate BO - Body Odor BO - Branch Office BO - Buyer's Option BOQ - Bachelor Oficers' Quarters BP - Blood Pressure BP - British Pharmacopoeia BPI - Bits Per Inch BPOE - Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks BR - Bills Receivable BR - British Rail BRS - Bibliographic Retrival Service BS - Bachelor of Science BS - Bill of Sale BSA - Birmingham Small Arms BSA - Boy Scouts of America BSD - Berkeley Software Distribution BSN - Bachelor of Science in Nursing BSTJ - Bell System Technical Journal BSc - Bachelor of SCience BTL - Bell Telephone Laboratories BTO - Bachman Turner Overdrive BTU - British Thermal Unit BTW - By The Way BThU - British Thermal Unit BV - Blessed Virgin BWI - Baltimore-Washington Internationmal (airport) BWI - British West Indies BX - Base eXchange (see PX) Bit - BInary digiT C/O - in Care Of CA - Chartered Accountant CA - Chief Accountant CA - Chronological Age CAB - Civil Aeronautics Board CACM - Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery CAD - Computer Aided Design (sometimes seen as CAD/CAM) CAE - Computer Aided Engineering CAM - Computer Aided Manufacturing (sometimes seen as CAD/CAM) CAM - Content Addressable Memory CAP - Civil Air Patrol CATV - Community Antenna TeleVision CAVU - Ceiling And Visability Unlimited CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBD - Cash Before Delivery CBS - Columbia Broadcasting System CBW - Chemical and Biological Warfare CC - Carbon Copy CC - Carbon Copy CCA - Computer Corporation of America CCC - Canadian Committee on Cataloguing CCC - Civil(ian) Conservation Corps CCC - Command, Control, and Communications CCCCM - CCC CounterMeasures (sometimes C^3CM) CCCI - Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence CCD - Charge Coupled Device (see CID) CCI - Computer Consoles, Incorporated CCIP - Continuously Computed Impact Point CCITT - Comite' de Consultatif von Telegraphique et Telephonique CCRP - Continuously Computed Release Point CCTV - Closed Circuit TeleVision CD - Certificate of Deposit CD - Civil Defense CD - Compact Disk CDC - Control Data Corporation, inc. CDR - CommanDeR CDT - Central Daylight Time CE - Chemical Engineer CE - Civil Engineer CE - Common Era (substitute for AD) CE - Corps of Engineers CE - Customer Engineer CEA - Council of Economic Advisors CEA - County Education Athority CED - Committee for Economic Development CENS - Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Seclay CENTO - CENtral Treaty Organization CEO - Chief Executive Officer CERN - organisation (formerly Conseil) Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaires CF - Carry Forward CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics CFI - Cost, Freight, and Insurance CFL - Canadian Football League CG - Coast Guard CG - Commanding General CH - ClearingHouse CH - CourtHouse CH - Customs House CHP - California Highway Patrol CIA - Central Intelligence Agency CID - Central Institute for the Deaf CID - Charge Injection Device (see CCD) 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 (see MOS) CMRR - Common Mode Rejection Ratio CMSgt - Chief Master Sergeant CN - Canadian National (railways) CNN - Cable News Network CNO - Chief of Naval Operations CNR - Canadian National Railways CNR - Carrier to Noise Ratio CNS - Central Nervous System CNS - Central Nervous System CO - Cash Order CO - Central Office (telephony) CO - Commanding Officer CO - Conscientious Objector COBOL - COmmon Business Oriented Language COD - Collect On Delivery; Cash On Delivery CP - Canadian Pacific CP - Chemically Pure CP - Command Post CP - the Canadian Press CPA - Certified Public Accountant CPFF - Cost Plus Fixed Fee CPM - Control Program Monitor (sometimes CP/M) CPO - Chief Petty Officer CPO - Chief Post Office CPR - Canadian Pacific Railway CPT - CaPTain CPU - Central Processor Unit CPW - Certified Public Weigher CQ - Change of Quarters CQ - Charge of Quarters CRC - Cyclical Redundancy Character CRT - Cathode Ray Tube (also generic refernce to a terminal) CRTC - Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission CS - Civil Servant CS - Computer Science CS - Computer Science; Computing Science CS - County Seat CSA - Confederate States of America CSM - Command Sergeant Major CSOC - Consolidated Space Operatons Center (at Colorado Springs) CST - Central Standard Time CT - Central Time CTC - Canadian Transport Commission CTC - Centralized Traffic Control (railways) CTIO - Cerro Tololo Inter-american Observatory CTV - Canadian TeleVision network CU - Close-Up CV - Curriculum Vitae CW - Chemical Warfare CW - Child Welfare CW - Churdwarden CW - Continuous Wave CWO - Cash With Order CWO - Chief Warrant Officer CWRU - Case Western Reserve University CYO - Catholic Youth Organization CZ - Canal Zone D/A - Digital to Analog converter D/F - Direction Finding DA - Days after Acceptance DA - Department of Agriculture DA - Deposit Account DA - District Attorney DA - Don't Answer DAC - Digital to Analog Converter DAR - Daughters fo the American Revolution DARPA - Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency DATA - Defense Air Transport Administration DAV - Disabled American Veterans DB - DataBase dbms - DataBase Management System (rdbms for Relational ...) DC - Direct Current (dc, see also AC) DC - District of Columbia DCC - Descriptive Cataloguing Committee DD - Days after Date DD - Demand Draft DD - Dishonourable Discharge DD - Doctor of Divinity DDC - Digital Data Converter DDD - Direct Distance Dial(ing) DDN - Defense Data Network DDS - Doctor of Dental Science DDS - Doctor of Dental Surgery DEC - Digital Equipment Corporation DEW - Distant Early Warning (as in DEW Line) DF - Damage Free DF - Direction Finding DFC - Distinguished Flying Cross DFM - Distinguished Flying Medal DFS - Depth-First Search DFW - Dallas-Ft.Worth (regional airport) DG - Dei Gratia (by the grace of God) DG - Director General DHHS - Department of Health and Human Services DHSS - british Department of Health and Social Security DID - Direct Inward Dialing DIY - Do It Yourself DJ - Disc Jockey DJ - Disc Jockey DLA - Defense Logistics Agency DLO - Dead Letter Office DMA - Direct Memory Access DMD - Doctor of Dental Medicine DME - Distance Measuring Equipment DMOS - Diffussion Metal Oxide Semiconductor (see MOS) DMV - Department of Motor Vehicles (Calif) 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 - Dining Room DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory (as opposed to static RAM) DRG - Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany) DRI - Digital Research, Incorporated DSM - Distinguished Service Medal DSO - Distinguished Service Order DSP - Decessit Sine Prole (died without issue) DSP - Digital Signal Processing DST - Daylight Saving Time DT - Delirium Tremens DTR - Data Terminal Ready DUT - Device Under Test DV - Deo Vo 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 E&EO - Errors and Omissions Excepted EBCDIC - Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code ECAFE - Economic Commission for Africa and the Far East ECC - Error Correction Code (corrects error in memory or transmission) ECCM - Electronic Counter-CounterMeasures ECG - ElectroCardioGram ECL - Emitter Coupled Logic (see also TTL) ECM - Electronic Counter Measure ECM - European Common Market ECO - Engineering Change Order ECT - ElectroConvulsive Therapy EDP - Electronic Data Processing EDT - Eastern Daylight Time EE - Electrical Engineer EE - Electrical or Electronics Engineer EEC - European Economic Comunity EEG - ElectroEncephaloGram EEPROM - Electrically erasable Programmable Read Only Memory EHF - Extremely High Frequency (30-300GHz) EKG - ElectroKardioGramm (see ECG) EL - ElectroLuminescent (as in display) ELF - Extremely Low Frequency ELP - Emerson, Lake and Palmer (the rock band) EM - Enlisted Man (see EW) EMF - ElectroMotive Force EMR - ElectroMagetic Response EMT - Emergency Medical Technician EMU - ElectroMagnetic Unit ENS - ENSign EP - Extended Play EPA - Environmental Protection Agency EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory EQ - Educational Quotient (see IQ) ER - Emergency Room ERA - Earned Run Average ESA - European Space Agency ESE - East South East ESM - Electronic Support Measures 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 - Electronic Warfare EW - Enlisted Woman (see EM) FA - Football Association (British soccer--a word derived from Association) FAA - Federal Aviation Agency FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the united states FAS - Free Alongside Ship FAX - FAcsimile FB - Freight Bill FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation FCC - Federal Communication Commission FDA - Food and Drug Administration FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDM - Frequency Division Multiplexing FEPC - Fair Employment Practices Commission FET - Federal Excise Tax FET - Field Effect Transistor FFA - Future Farmers of America FFT - Fast Fourier Transform FHA - Federal Home Administration FHA - Future Homemakers of America FICA - Federal Insurance Contributions Act FIDO - Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation FIFO - First In First Out (as in registers and buffers) FILO - First In Last Out (see also FIFO) FIO - Frequency In and Out FLOP - FLoating point Operations Per Second FLOPS - FLoating-point OPerations per Second FM - Frequency Modulation FMB - Federal Maritime Board FMCS - Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 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 FPHA - Federal Public Housing Athority FPLA - Field Programmable Logic Array (see PLA) FPM - Feet Per Minute FPO - Feild Post Office FPO - Fleet Post Office FPS - Feet Per Second FRG - Federal Republic of Gernmany (West Germany) FRS - Federal Reserve System FSK - Frequency Shift Keying FSLIC - Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation FSW - Forward Swept Wings FTC - Federal Trade Commission FUBAR - F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition FWD - Front Wheel Drive FWHM - Full Width at Half Maximum FYI - For Your Information FYI - For Your Information GA - Gamblers Anonymous GA - General Assembly GA - General Average GA - General of the Army GAAP - Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 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 - Garbage Collection (LISP) GC - Gas Chromatograph (or Chromatography GCA - Ground Controlled Approach GCD - Ground Controlled Descent GCM - General Court Martial GCR - Group-Coded Recording (magnetic tape, 6250 bpi) GCT - Greenwich Civil Time GHQ - General HeadQuarters GHz - Giga HertZ (unit of frequency, 1,000,000,000 cycles per second) GI - Galvanized Iron GI - Gastro Intestinal (as in upper GI) GI - General Issue GI - Government Issue GIGO - Garbage In Garbage Out GIGO - Garbage In Garbage Out GISS - Goddard Institute for Space Studies GKS - Graphics Kernel System GM - General Manager GM - General Motors GM - Guided Missile GMT - Greenwich Mean Time GNP - Gross National Product GP - General Practitioner GPO - General Post Office GPO - Government Printing Office GPS - Global Positioning System GQ - General Quarters GRB - Gamma Ray Burst(er) GREP - Global Regular Expression Print (UNIX command) GRO - Gamma Ray Observatory GS - Glide Slope GSA - General Services Adminstration GSA - Girl Scouts of America GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center GT - Gross Ton GTE - General Telephone and Electric GWEN - Ground Wave Emergency Network HAL - Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer (2001) HBM - Her British Majesty; His British Majesty HBO - Home Box Office HC - Holy Communion HC - House of Commons HCL - High Cost of Living HD - Heavy Duty HDA - Head Disk Assembly (in winchester disk drives) HDLC - High-level Data Link Control (IBM network stuff) HDTV - High Definition Television HE - His Eminence; His Excellency HEAO - High Energy Astronomical Observatory HF - High Frequency (3-30MHz) HMOS - High preformance Metal Oxide Semiconductor (see MOS) HMS - His/Her Majesty's Ship HP - Hewlett Packard, inc. HP - High Pressure HP - Higher Power (sort of an AA "in" term, usually God) 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) HUAC - House Unamerican Activities Committee HUD - Heads Up Display HUD - Housing and Urban Development Hb - HemogloBin Hz - HertZ (unit of frequency, cycles per second) IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency IATA - International Air Transport Association IBM - International Business Machines, inc. IC - Integrated Circuit ICBM - Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ICJ - International Court of Justice ICRC - International Cosmic Ray Conference IDA - International Development Association IDDD - International Direct Distance Dial IE - Indo-European IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IF - Intermediate Frequency (as in IF stage) IFC - International Finance Corporation IFC - International Freighting Corporation IFLA - International Federation of Library Associations IGY - International Geophysical Year IHP - Indicated HorsePower IIHF - International Ice Hockey Federation IIL - Integrated Injection Logic ILO - International Labor Organization ILS - Instrument Landing System IMF - International Monetary Fund IMP - Interface Message Processor (ARPAnet) IMSL - International Mathematics and Statistics Library INRA - Iesus Nazerenus Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews) INWATS - INward Wide Area Telephone Service IO - Input Output (sometimes I/O) IOOF - Independent Order of Odd Fellows IOU - I Owe you(U) IP - Innings Pitched IQ - Intelligence Quotient (see EQ) IR - Index Register IRA - Individual Retirement Account IRA - Individual Retirement Account IRA - Irish Republican Army IRAS - Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRBM - Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile IRDS - InfraRed Detection Set IRE - Institute of Radio Engineers (old name for the now IEEE, which see) IRS - Internal Revenue Service ISBD - International Bibliographic Description ISCH - Interstitial-Cell-Stimulating Hormone (same as LH) ISEE - International Sun Earth Explorer (usually ISEE-3) ISO - International Standards Organization ISPM - International Solar Polar Mission ISRG - Independent Space Research Group ITU - International Telecommunications Union IUS - Inertial Upper Stage JACM - Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery JBS - John Birch Society JC - Jesus Christ JC - Joint Compound (plumbing) JC - Julius Caesar JC - Junior College JCA - Jewelry Crafts Association JCAC - Joint Civil Affairs Committee JCAE - Joint Committee on Atomic Energy JCEE - Joint Council on Economic Education JCET - Joint Council on Educational Television JCS - Joint Chiefs of Staff JD - Justice Department JDS - John Dewey Society JES - John Ericsson Society JFK - John F. Kennedy (international airport) JGR - Journal of Geophysical Research JIC - Joint Intelligence Center JIC - Just in Case JMS - John Milton Society JO - Job Order JO - Junior Officer JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory JRC - Junior Red Cross JSC - Johnson Space Center JSRC - Joint Services Review Committee JTIDS - Joint Tactical Information Distribution Systems JV - Junior Varsity K9 - canine (K9 corps - army dogs) KC - King's Counsel (QC when queen reigning) KC - Knights of Columbus KD - Kiln Dried KD - Knocked Down KERMIT - Kl-10 Error-free Reciprocal Micro Interconnect over Tty lines KHz - Kilo HertZ (unit of frequency, 1000 cycles per second) KI - Kiwanis International KIA - Killed In Action KIAS - Knot Indicated Air Speed KO - Knock Out KP - Kitchen Police KPNO - Kitt Peak National Observatory KPO - KeyPunch Operator KS - King's Scholar KSC - Kennedy Space Center LA - Los Angeles LA - Low Altitude LADAR - LAser Detection And Ranging LAM - Master of Liberal Arts LAN - Local Apparent Noon LAN - Local Area Network LAR - Local Acquisition Radar LASER - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation LAT - Local Apparent Time LAX - Los Angeles International Airport LB - Light Bomber LBHS - Long Beach High School LBL - Lawrence Berkeley Labs LC - inductor-Capacitor circuit (as in filters, L is symbol inductance) LCD - Liquid Crystal Display LCD - Lowest Common Denominator LCDR - Lieutenant Commander LCT - Landing Craft Tanks LDEF - Long Duration Exposure Facility LED - Light Emitting Diode LEM - Lunar Excursion Module LF - Low Frequency (30-300KHz) LH - Left Hand LH - Lower Half LH - Luteinizing Hormone (same as ISCH) LHD - Litterarum Humaniorum Doctor (doctor of human letters) LHS - Left Hand Side LI - Long Island LIFO - Last In First Out (see FIFO) LISP - LISt Processing Language LL - Late Latin LLB - Legum Baccalaureus (bachelor of laws) LLD - Legum doctor (doctor of laws) LM - Life Master (Contract Bridge ranking) LM - Lunar Module LM - Lunar Module LMC - Large Magellanic Cloud (see SMC) LNG - Liquefied Natural Gas LOP - Lines Of Position LP - Long Play(ing) LP - Long Playing record LP - Low Pressure LPC - Linear Predictive Coding (speech processing) LPG - Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPG - Low Pressure Gas LPN - Licensed Practical Nurse LRBM - Long Range Ballistic Missile LRC - Longitudinal Redudancy Character LRC - Longitudinal Redundancy Character LRU - Line Replaceable Unit LS - Left Side LS - Letter Signed LS - Locus Sigilli (place of seal) LSB - Least Signficant Bit; Least Significant Byte LSD - Least Signficant Digit LSD - LySergic acid Diethylamide LSD - pounds (Libra), shillings (Sestertii), and (old) pence (Denarii) LSI - Large Scale Integration LSS - Life Support System LT - Long Ton LT - Low Tension LTC - Lieutenant Colonel LTJG - Lieutenant Junior Grade LTL - Less than Truckload Lot LUG - Local Users Group LZ - Landing Zone Laser - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation MAC - Military Air Command MACSYMA - project MAC's SYmbolic MAnipulation System MAD - Mutual Assured Destruction MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving MARBI - MAchine Readable form of Bibliographic Information MARC - MAchine Readable card Catalog MASH - Mobile Army Surgical Hospital MAST - Multi-Application SOnar Trainer MAT-CALS- Marine Air Traffic-Control And Landing System MBA - Master Business Adminstration MC - Master of Ceremonies MCPO - Master Chief Petty Officer MD - Doctor of Medicine MD - Medical Doctor MD - Months after Date MDT - Mean Down Time ME - Mechanical Engineer MEd - Master of EDucation MF - Medium Frequency (300-3000KHz) MF - Middle French MFA - Master Fine Arts MFLOPS - Million FLoating-point OPerations per Second MG - Machine Gun MG - Major General MG - Military Government MGM - Metro-Goldwyn Mayer MHD - MagnetoHydroDynamics 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 MIRV - Multiple Independently-Targetable Reentry Vehicle MIS - Microcomputer Information Services MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology ML - Middle Latin MLA - Member of Legislative Assembly (see MPP) MLD - Minimum Lethal Dose MLS - Microwave Landing System MLS - Microwave Landing System MM - Maryknoll Missioners MMU - Memory Management Unit MNA - Member of National Assembly (Quebec) MO - Mail Order MO - Medical Officer MO - Modus Operandi MO - Money Order MOS - Metal Oxide Semiconductor MOSFET - Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor MOU - Memorandum Of Understanding MOUSE - Minimum Orbital Unmanned Satellite of Earth MP - Melting Point MP - Member of Parliament MP - Metropolitan Police MP - Military Police(man) MPG - Miles Per Gallon MPH - Mile Per Hour MPH - Miles Per Hour MPP - Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada; also MLA) MS - ManuScript MS - Master of Science MS - Military Science MS - Motor Ship MS - Multiple Sclerosis MSB - Most Signficant Bit; Most Significant Byte MSD - Most Signficant Digit MSG - MonoSodium Glutimate MSL - Mean Sea Level MSS - ManuScriptS MST - Mountain Standard Time MT - Metric Ton MT - Mountain Time MTBF - Mean Time Between Failures MTV - Music TeleVision MUF - Maximum Usable Frequency (max freq during sunspot activity) MUNG - Mung Until No Good (see the hacker's dictionary) MVA - MegaVolt Ampere MX - Missile eXperimental Maser - Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation MeV - Million Electron Volts N - North NA - Narcotics Anonymous NA - North America NA - Not Applicable NAACP - Natioanl Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAB - Natioanal Association of Broadcasters NABISCO - NAtional BIScuit COmpany NAD - Network Access Device NADGE - NATO Air Defense Ground Environment NAR - Nuclear Acoustic Resonance NAS - National Academy of Sciences NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization NB - New Brunswick NB - Nota Bene NBA - National Basketball Association NBC - National Broadcasting Company NBFM - NarrowBand Frequency Modulation NBS - National Bureau of Standards NBVM - Narrow Band Voice Modulation NC - No Charge NC - North Carolina NCE - New Catholic Edition NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer NCR - National Cash Register NCV - No Commercial Value ND - No Date ND - North Dakota NDEA - National Defense Education Act NDP - New Democratic Party (Canada) NDSL - National Defense Student Loan NDT - Newfoundland Daylight Time NE - New England NE - North East NEB - New English Bible NEC - Nippon Electric Company NEI - Not Elsewhere Included NES - Not Elsewhere Specified NET - National Educational Telivision NF - No Funds NFC - National Football Conference NFL - National Football League NG - National Guard NG - No Good NHI - National Health Insurance NHI - National Health Insurance NHL - National Hockey League (the "nation" is Canada, BTW) NIC - Network Information Center (ARPAnet) NIH - National Institute of Health NIM - Nuclear Instrumentation Module (an electronic instr. standard) NJ - New Jersey NL - National League (baseball) NLM - National Library of Medicine NLRB - National Labor Relations Board NM - Nautical Mile NM - New Mexico NM - Night Message NM - No Mark; Not Marked NMOS - N channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (N-MOS) (see MOS) NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance NNE - North North East NNW - North North West NORAD - NORth American Defense Command (?) NOS - Not Otherwise Specified NP - No Protest NP - Nondeterministic-Polynomial NP - Notary Public NP - Noun Phrase NPN - Negative-Positive-Negative (transistor) NPN - NonProtein Nitrogen NPR - National Public Radio NRA - National Rifle Association NRC - National Research Council NRE - Non-Recurring Engineering (as in NRE costs) NRL - Naval Research Labs NRZ - Non-Return to Zero NRZI - Non-Return to Zero Indicates NRZI - Non-Return to Zero Inverted (magnetic tape, 800 bpi) NS - Not Specified NS - Nova Scotia NS - Nuclear Ship NSA - National Security Agency NSC - National Security Council NSF - National Science Foundation NST - Newfoundland Standard Time NSW - New South Wales NT - New Testament NT - Newfoundland Time NT - Northern Territory NTP - Normal Temperature and Pressure (see STP) NTSB - National Transportation Safety Board NU - Name Unknown NUSC - Naval Underwater Systems COmmand NW - North West NWT - North West Territories NY - New York NYC - New York City NYSE - New York Stock Exchange NZ - New Zealand OA - Office Automation OA - Overeaters Anonymous OAS - Organization Of American states OBE - Order of the British Empire OBS - Omni Bearing Selector OC - Order of Canada OCDM - Office of Civil Defense and Mobilization OCLC - Online Computer Library Center (Ohio College Library Catalog) OCS - Officer Candidate School OD - Doctor of Optometry OD - Oculus Dexter (right eye) OD - Officer of the Day OD - Over Dose 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 OMV - Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle ON - Old Norse ONI - Office of Navel Intelligence OP - Observation Post OP - Order of Preachers OP - Out of Print OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 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. Francis OSS - Office of Strategic Services (later CIA) OT - Old Testament OT - OverTime OTB - Off-Track Betting OTC - Over The Counter stocks OTH-B - Over The Horizon - Backscatter (as in radar) OTS - Officers' Training School PA - Per Annum PA - Power of Attorney PA - Press Agent PA - Private Account PA - Public Address PA - Purchasing Agent PABX - Private Automatic Branch eXchange PAD - Packet Assembler-Disassembler (for networking) PBS - Public Broadcasting System PBX - Private Branch eXchange (mini-telephone network system) PC - Peace Corps PC - PerCent; PerCentage PC - Personal Computer PC - Post Card PC - Post Cibum (after meals) PC - Privy Council PC - Program Counter PC - Progressive Conservative party (Canada) PCB - PolyChlorinated Biphenyls PCB - Printed Circuit Board PCOE - Port Of Entry PCS - Permanent Change of Station PD - Per Diem PD - Police Department PD - Potential Difference PDP - Programmed Data Processor PDQ - Pretty Damned Quick PDT - Pacific Daylight Time PE - Phase Encoded PE - Physical Education PE - Prince Edward island PE - Printer's Error PE - Professional Engineer PE - Protestant Episcopal PEI - Prince Edward Island PHA - Pulse Height Analyser (or Analysis) PHS - Public Health Service PIT - Principal, Interest, and Taxes PLA - Programmable Logic Array PLL - Phase Lock Loop PLO - Please Leave On PM - PayMaster PM - Police Magistrate PM - Post Meridiem PM - PostMaster PM - PostMortem PM - Preventive Maintenance PM - Prime Minister PM - Provost Marshal PMO - Prime Minister's Office PMOS - P channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (P-MOS) (see MOS) PMT - PhotoMultiplier Tube PN - Promissory Note PNP - Positive-Negative-Positive (transistor) PO - PettyOfficer PO - Post Office PO - Postal Order PO - Purchase Order POC - Point Of View POC - Port Of Call POD - Pay On Delivery POE - Port Of Embarkation POGO - Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 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 - Project Programmer # PPN - parameterized post-Newtonianformalism for general relativity PPT - Pulse Pair Timing PQ - Province of Quebec PR - PayRoll PR - Public Relations PR - Puerto Rico PROM - Programmable Read Only Memory PS - PostScript PS - Public School PSG - Platoon Sergeant PSK - Phase Shift Keying PST - Pacific Standard Time PT - Pacific Time PT - Patrol Torpedo (as in PT boat) PT - Physical Therapy PT - Physical Training PTA - Parent-Teacher Association PTO - Please Turn Over PVO - Pioneer Venus Orbiter PW - Prisoner of War (usually POW) PX - Post eXchange (see BX) PhysRev - Physical Review Journal - Phys Rev QC - Queen's Counsel 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 QNS - Quantity Not Sufficient RA - Regular Army RA - Research Assistant RA - Royal Academy RAAF - Royal Australian Air Force RADAR - RAdio Detection And Ranging 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 - Research and Development (commonly R and D) RD - Rural Delivery RDF - Radio Direction Finding REA - Rail Express Agency REM - Rapid Eye Movement RF - Radio Frequency RFC - Request For Comments RFD - Rural Free Delivery RFI - Radio Frequency Interference RH - Right Hand RHS - Right Hand Side RIACS - Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (NASA) RIF - Reading Is Fundamental RIP - Rest In Peace (or Requiescat In Pace : latin) RISC - Reduced Instruction Set Computer RLL - Run Length Limited RMS - Root Mean Square RN - Registered Nurse RN - Royal Navy RNA - RiboNucleic Acid RNZAF - Royal New Zealand Air Force ROG - Receipt Of Goods ROM - Range Of Motion (mdeical) ROM - Read Only Memory ROM - Rupture Of Membrane (as in birth) ROTC - Reserve Officers' Training Corps ROYGBIV - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet RPG - Role Playing Game RPM - Revolutions Per Minute RPN - Reverse Polish Notation RPO - Railway Post Office RPS - Revolutions Per Second RPV - Remotely Piloted Vehicle RR - RailRoad RR - Rural Route RS - Recording Secretary RS - Revised Status RS - Right Side RS - Royal Society RSFSR - Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic 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 Radar - RAdio Detection And Ranging S - South SA - SOuth Africa SA - Salvation Army SA - Seaman Apprentice SA - Sex Appeal SA - Sine Anno (without date) SA - South America SA - Subject to Approval SAA - South Atlantic Anomaly SAC - Strategic Air Command (see TAC) SADD - Students Against Drunk Driving SAM - Surface to Air Missile SAMTO - SpaceAnd Missile Test Organization SAP - Second Audio Program SASE - Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope SAW - Surface Acoustic Wave SBA - Small Business Administration SC - South Carolina SCADC - Standard Central Air Data Computer SCUBA - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus SCUBA - Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus SCUBA - SelfContained Underwater Breathing Aperatus SD - South Dakota SDI - Stategic Defence Initiative SDO - Staff Duty Officer SE - South East SEATO - SouthEast Asia Treaty Organization SEC - Security Exchange Commission SEM - Scanning Electron Microscope SF - San Francisco SF - Science Fiction; Speculative Fiction SHF - Super High Frequency (3-30GHz) SI - Staten Island SIAM - Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics SIMD - Single Instruction, Multiple Data SJ - Society of Jesus SL - Salvage Loss SLA - Special Libraries Association SLA - Special Library Association SLA - Synchronous Line Adapter SLAN - Sine Loco, Anno, (vel) Nomine (without place, year, or name) SLAR - Side Looking Airborne Radar SLBM - Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles SLP - Super Long Play (VHS VCR) SM - Service Mark SMA - Sergeant Major of the Army SMC - Small Magellanic Cloud (see LMC) SMD - Storage Module Device (interface standard for disk drives) SMD - Surface Mounted Devices SMERSH - Abbr. of Russian phrase meaning "Death to the spies." SMILS - Sonobouy Missile Impact Location System SMM - Solar Maximum Mission SN - Super Nova SNA - Systems Network Architecture (IBM network) SNAFU - Situation Normal -- All F**** Up SNAFU - Situation Normal -- All Fouled Up (also, F*cked) SNAFU - Situation Normal: All F***ed Up SNCF - Societe National des Chemins de Fer (French National Railways) SNOBOL - StriNg Oriented symbOLic Language 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) SOHIO - Standard Oil of oHIO SOL - Short on Landing (or, colloquially, Shit Out of Luck) SOP - Standard Operating Procedure SOS - Silicon On Saphire SP - Shore Patrol SP - Short Play (VHS VCR) SP - Southern Pacific SP - Stack Pointer SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SPCC - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children SPNI - Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel SRAM - Short Range Attack Missile SRB - Solid fuel Rocket Booster SRI - Stanford Research Institute SRO - Standing Room Only SSA - Society Security Administration SSB - Single Side Band SSE - South-SouthEast SSG - Staff SerGeant SSI - Small Scale Integration SSR - Secondary Surveillance Radar SSR - Soviet Socialist Republic SSTV - Slow Scan TeleVision SSW - South-SouthWest ST - Short Ton STD - Sacrae Theologiae Doctor (doctor of sacred theology) STD - Sexually Transmitted Disease (replaces VD) STD - Subscriber Trunk Dialing (British for DDD) STL - St. Louis (airport designation) STOL - Short TakeOff and Landing STP - Standard Temperature and Pressure (see NTP) SUNOCO - SUN Oil COmpany SW - South West Sci-Fi - SCIence FIction (often used pejoratively of what really isn't) Scuba - Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus Sonar - SOund Detection And Ranging TA - Teaching Assistant TAC - Tactical Air Command (see SAC) TAC - Terminal Access Controller TB - TuBerculosis TBA - To Be Announced TBD - To Be Determined TC - Teachers College TCA - Terminal Controlled Airspace TD - TouchDown TD - Treasury Department TDY - Temporary DutY TIA - Thanks In Advance (special to USENET) TIA - Transient Ischemic Attack TID - Ter In Die (three times a day) TKO - Technical Knock Out TL - Total Loss TLC - Tender Loving Care TM - TradeMark TMA - Tycho Magnetic Anomaly (2001) TMO - Telephone Money Order TNT - TriNitro Toluene TO - Telegraph Office TO - Turn Over TODS - Transactions on Database Systems (ACM) TOMS - Transactions on Mathematical Software (ACM) TOOIS - Transactions on Office Information Systems (ACM) TOPLAS - Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems (ACM) TOW - Tube launched, Optically tracked, and Wire guided TPC - The Phone Company (from classic movie: _The President's Analyst_) TPO - Traveling Post Office TSR - TSR (Fortune 500 Company that manufactures Dungeons & Dragons) TTL - Transistor Transistor Logic TTY - TeleTYpe TV - TeleVision TVA - Tennesee Valley Authority TWA - Trans World Airlines TWIMC - To Whom It May Concern TWT - Traveling Wave Tube TWX - TeletypeWriter eXchange Teflon - polyTEtraFLuOrethyleNe UA - United Artists UAR - United Arab Republic UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter UBA - UniBus Adapter UBC - Universal Blibliographic Control UCB - University of California at Berkeley UCB - University of California at Berkeley UCD - University of California at Davis UCI - University of California at Irvine UCLA - Univeristy of California at Los Angeles UCLA - University of California at Los Angeles UCLA - University of California at Los Angeles UCR - University of California at Riverside UCSB - University of California at Santa Barbara UCSC - University of California at Santa Cruz UCSD - University of California at San Diego UCSF - University of California at San Francisco UFO - Unidentified Flying Object UH - Upper Half UHF - Ultra High Frequency UHF - Ultra High Frequency (300-3000MHz) UK - United Kingdom UL - Underwriters Laboratory UMT - Universal Military Training UN - United Nations UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization UNICEF - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (now United Nat. Child. Fund) UNIX - Not an acronym at all. Was a joke on MIT's MULTICS. UNO - United Nations Organization UP - Union Pacific UPI - United Press International UPI - United Press International UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply UPS - United Parcel Service UR - University of Rochester USA - Union of South Africa USA - United States Army USA - United States of America USAA - United Services Automobile Association USAAC - U.S. Army Air Corps USAF - United States Air Force USAFA - United States Air Force Academy (in Colorado Springs) USC - University of Southern California USCG - United States Coast Guard USDA - United States Department of Agriculture USES - United States Employment Service USFL - United States Football League 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 USW - Und so weiter UT - Universal Time UTC - Coordinated Universal Time UV - UltraViolet UW - UnderWriter UW - Univ of Wisconsin VA - Veterans Administration VAR - Value Added Remarketers VASI - Visual Approach Slope Indicator VAT - Value Added Tax VAX - Virtual Address eXtended VCO - Voltage Controlled Oscillator VCR - VideoCassette Recorder VD - Venereal Disease (see also STD) VF - Video Frequency VFW - Volunteer Fire Department VG - Very Good VG - Vicar-General VHDL - VHSIC Hardware Description Language VHF - Very High Frequency (30-300MHz) VHS - Video Home System (VCR) VHSIC - Very High Speed Integrated Circuit VIP - Very Important Person VISTA - Volunteers In Service To America VJ - Video Jockey VL - Vulgar 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 VMOS - Vertical Metal Oxide Semiconductor (V-MOS) (see MOS) VOA - Voice Of America VOQ - Visiting Officer's Quarters VRC - Vertical Redundancy Character VTOL - Vertical TakeOff and Landing VTR - VideoTape Recorder VVSS - Vertical Volute Spring Suspension W - West WA - Western Australia WAC - Womens Air Corps WARC - World Administrative Conference WATS - Wide Area Telephone Service WATS - Wide Area Telephone Service WB - Water Ballast WB - WayBill WBC - White Blood Cells WC - Water Closet WC - Without Charge WCTU - 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 WV - West Virginia WW - World War XD - without Dividend XL - eXtra Large XMTR - transMiTteR (the X is for trans) XO - eXecutive Officer XOR - eXclusive OR (logical function) XSECT - cross SECTion XTAL - crysTAL (another version of x for crys, see XMTR) YA - Yet Another YB - YearBook YMCA - Young Mens Christian Association YMHA - Young Mens Hebrew Association YOB - Year Of Birth YST - Yukon Standard Time YT - Yukon Territory YT - Yukon Time 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) ZMRI - Zinc Metals Research Institute ZPG - Zero Population Growth ZPRSN - Zurich Provisional Relative Sunspot Number ZST - Zone Standard Time ZT - Zone Time