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From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Searching for a word
Message-ID: <374@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 15-Feb-86 14:08:42 EST
Article-I.D.: utastro.374
Posted: Sat Feb 15 14:08:42 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Feb-86 09:14:56 EST
References: <361@uw-june> <484@mmm.UUCP> <8933@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 27
Keywords: acronym

In article <8933@ucla-cs.ARPA>, das@ucla-cs.UUCP writes:
> Challenge:  Find a pronounceable word that originated as an acronym before,
> say, 1800.  The Greek "IXTHYS" pun doesn't count, of course, since the acronym
> was just a play on an existing word (the word means "fish", but is also an
> acronym for the Greek phrase meaning "Jesus Christ, son of God").
> 
> -- David Smallberg, das@locus.ucla.edu, {ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!das

From "An Israel (sic) Haggadah for Passover" by Meyer Levin, page 54:

Plague after plague was sent upon the Egyptians.  In compassion and sorrow
over the evil and suffering that exists in the world, our ancestors, in
numbering the plagues, poured away with each word a drop of their wine
of rejoicing.  Rabbi Yehuda used only the initial for each plague, and
made three words:

      D'tsach adash b'achav

(necessarily a transliteration here, since most terminals don't speak
Hebrew.)

If I remember correctly, Rabbi Yehuda died before 1800.
-- 
Ed Nather
Astronomy Dept, U of Texas @ Austin
{allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather
nather@astro.UTEXAS.EDU