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From: kay@warwick.UUCP (Kay Dekker)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Searching for a word
Message-ID: <441@snow.warwick.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 03:36:00 EST
Article-I.D.: snow.441
Posted: Mon Mar 10 03:36:00 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Mar-86 22:30:26 EST
References: <361@uw-june> <484@mmm.UUCP> <8933@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Reply-To: kay@warwick.UUCP (Kay Dekker)
Organization: Computer Science, Warwick University, UK
Lines: 20
Keywords: acronym

In article <8933@ucla-cs.ARPA> das@ucla-cs.UUCP (David Smallberg) 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

Well, this doen't *quite* count, but I thought it might be of interest:
the word "cabal" (which in its common uses is derived from Fr. "cabale",
Lat. "cab(b)ale", and Heb. "kabbala") is in history specifically applied
to the five ministers of Charles II of England: Clifford, Arlington,
Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale, who signed the Treaty of Alliance with
France in 1672.

						Kay.

-- 
"I AM; YOU ARE; HELLO: all else is poetry"
			... mcvax!ukc!warwick!kay