history - When did the use of acronyms begin?



What are some of the earliest acronyms and did they know it was an acronym at the time?



Answer



Here is an old one:


You may know that the emblem of paleo-Christians was the fish. The Greek word for the fish is "ἰχθύς" (Ichthys). And here is what it stands for if you are one of the first Christians.


ΙΧΘΥΣ



  • I (I, Iota) : ΙΗΣΟΥΣ (Iêsoûs) « Jesus »

  • Χ (KH, Khi) : ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Khristòs) « Christ » ;

  • Θ (TH, Theta) : ΘΕΟΥ (Theoû) « God » ;

  • Υ (U, Upsilon) : ΥΙΟΣ (Huiòs) « Son » ;

  • Σ (S, Sigma) : ΣΩΤΗΡ (Sôtếr) « Saver ».


INRI
And on the same theme, the acronym INRI (so often seen on crucifixes), but Latin this time:



  • I : IESVS : Jesus

  • N : NAZARENVS : Nazarene

  • R : REX : King

  • I : IVDÆORVM : of the Jews


As you can see, acronyms are no recent invention. As for what was the first one, this is probably lost forever.


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