ABSTRACT
Abbreviated forms of various kinds are a feature of in-group language since shortening a word or using just initials adds a layer of obscurity. Shortening may involve specialisation as with app, which is an abbreviation of application but only in the computer sense, especially for phone apps. Dox is an abbreviation of the noun documents, but the abbreviation is a verb and refers to publishing someone’s personal information online. These shifts of meaning indicate shortening is to be considered a way of making new words. Doctors traditionally use Latin in writing prescriptions with a number of alphabetisms that render the text obscure to the outsider. Acronyms are not nearly as numerous as alphabetisms. For every acronym there would be something like a hundred alphabetisms. Acronyms are not nearly as numerous as alphabetisms. Acronyms have become popular since the middle of the twentieth century.
