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An example of a backronym as a [[mnemonic]] is the [[Apgar score]], used to assess the health of newborn babies. The rating system was devised by and named after [[Virginia Apgar]]. Ten years after the initial publication, the backronym ''APGAR'' was coined in the US as a mnemonic learning aid: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/Views/Exhibit/narrative/obstetric.html|publisher=U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH|title=The Virginia Apgar Papers - Obstetric Anesthesia and a Scorecard for Newborns, 1949-1958|access-date=2008-11-18|archive-date=2009-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113173529/http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/Views/Exhibit/narrative/obstetric.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Another example is the American Contract Bridge League's tools to address cheating in online bridge games. EDGAR was originally named for Edgar Kaplan, whose many contributions to the game included groundbreaking efforts to reduce illegal partnership communication. The new EDGAR tools expected to debut in early 2024 have been launched with the backronym "everyone deserves a game above reproach".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Official |first1=ACBL |url=https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/acbl-battles-online-cheating-with-edgar/ |website=Bridge Winners |access-date=November 15, 2023 |title=ACBL Battles Online Cheating with EDGAR |date=8 November 2023 |archive-date=November 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115195955/https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/acbl-battles-online-cheating-with-edgar/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Many [[United States Congress]] bills have backronyms as their names; examples include the American [[CARES Act]] ([[SARS-CoV-2|Coronavirus]] Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) of 2020,<ref>{{Cite web |titlename=The CARES Act Works for All Americans |website=[[U.S. Department of the Treasury]] |url=https://home.treasury.gov/policy"roll-issues/carescall" |access-date=2020-10-02 |archive-date=2020-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001231924/https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=McConnell|first=Mitch|date=2020-06-03|title=S.3548examples - 116th Congress (2019-2020): CARES Act|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548|access-date=2020-10-02|website=congress.gov|archive-date=2020-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002021327/https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548|url-status=live}}</ref>include the [[Patriot Act|USA PATRIOT Act]] (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) of 2001, and the [[DREAM Act]] (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act).<ref name="roll-call">{{cite web|url=https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/28/mitch-mcconnell-coronavirus-backronym/|title=The art of the 'backronym'|date=July 28, 2020|website=[[Roll Call]]|access-date=January 24, 2022|archive-date=January 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124065736/https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/28/mitch-mcconnell-coronavirus-backronym/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===As false etymologies===
{{further|List of common false etymologies of English words#Acronyms}}
Similarly, the distress signal [[SOS]] is often believed to be an abbreviation for "save our ship" or "save our souls" but was chosen because it has a simple and unmistakable Morse code representation{{snd}} three dots, three dashes, and three dots, sent without any pauses between characters.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rohrer |first=Finlo |title=Save our SOS |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7444184.stm |work=BBC News Magazine |date=13 June 2008 |access-date=2012-07-10 |archive-date=2012-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202172820/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7444184.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
More recent examples include the brand name [[Adidas]], named after company founder [[Adolf Dassler|Adolf "Adi" Dassler]] but falsely believed to be an acronym for "all day I dream about sport";.<ref name="adidas book">{{cite book |last1=Brunner |first1=Conrad |title=All Day I Dream About Sport: The Story of the Adidas Brand |date=2004 |publisher=Cyan |location=London |isbn=1-904879-12-8 |series=Great Brand Stories}}</ref>{{pages?|date=November 2023}}
The word ''[[Wiki]]'', is said to stand for "what I know is",<ref name="economist-wiki">{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6794228|title=The wiki principle|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2006-11-15|date=2006-04-20| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061007095842/http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6794228| archive-date= 7 October 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> but in fact is derived from the [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] phrase ''wiki-wiki'' meaning 'fast';.<ref name="dict-ref-wiki">{{cite dictionary |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wiki|title=wiki |dictionary=Dictionary.com|access-date=2006-11-15| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061206015347/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wiki| archive-date= 6 December 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> or
[[Yahoo!]], sometimes claimed to mean "yet another hierarchical officious oracle", but in fact was chosen because Yahoo's founders liked the word's meaning of "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth" (taken from [[Jonathan Swift]]'s book ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'').<ref name="Yahoo-Info">{{cite web |title=The History of Yahoo! - How It All Started... |url=http://docs.yahoo.com/info/misc/history.html |date=2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011129061649/http://docs.yahoo.com/info/misc/history.html |archive-date=29 November 2001 |work=Yahoo |access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref> The distress call "[[pan-pan]]" is commonly stated to mean "possible assistance needed", whereas it is in fact derived from the French word ''panne'', meaning 'breakdown'.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Eli |date=18 January 2023 |title=Qantas flight QF144 lands safely at Sydney Airport after midair mayday call |work=news.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/fears-for-flight-after-mayday-called-for-qantas-flight-auckland-to-sydney/news-story/82bab4c70582ba4f7e7af0a8058fcbc2 |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118061647/https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/fears-for-flight-after-mayday-called-for-qantas-flight-auckland-to-sydney/news-story/82bab4c70582ba4f7e7af0a8058fcbc2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also==
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