anacronym

Perhaps blend of anachronism +‎ acronym but perhaps an- +‎ acronym, in either case indicating an acronymic word that has lost much of its acronymic identity because people usually no longer focus on the etymonic origin when using the word.

• IPA^(key): /əˈnæk.ɹə.nɪm/
• Rhymes: -ækɹənɪm
• Homophone: anachronym

anacronym (plural anacronyms)

1. An acronym that is usually no longer thought of as such, but instead treated as a regular word and styled in lower case despite its etymological origin.

   Hypernyms: acronym (broad sense) < abbreviation (broad sense) < word (broad sense)

   Coordinate terms: orphan acronym (not to be confused), orphan initialism

   When you write about using a waterproof laser pointer while scuba diving, you probably aren’t going to write about “a L.A.S.E.R. pointer for S.C.U.B.A. diving”, because the words laser and scuba are anacronyms.

• Not to be confused with anachronym (such as lead pencil or tin foil), despite the homophony and nearly identical spelling of the terms.
• A distinction can be made between an anacronym (which remains acronymous but in a de-emphasized way) and an orphan acronym (a name no longer acronymous at all, such as the name of a company that has legally redefined itself). This distinction is not always upheld.

• anacronymic

• “anacronym”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.