Military slang is an array of colloquial

terminology Terminology is a group of specialized words and respective meanings in a particular field, and also the study of such terms and their use; the latter meaning is also known as terminology science. A ''term'' is a word, Compound (linguistics), com ...

used commonly by

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

personnel, including

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

which is unique to or originates with the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. In English-speaking countries, it often takes the form of

abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

s or derivations of the

NATO Phonetic Alphabet The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or simply the Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear-code words for communicating the letters of the Latin/Roman ...

, or otherwise incorporates aspects of formal military terms and concepts.

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

slang is often used to reinforce or reflect (usually friendly and humorous) interservice rivalries.

Acronym slang in the U.S. Military

A number of military slang terms are acronyms. Rick Atkinson ascribes the origin of SNAFU (Situation Normal, All Fucked Up), FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond Any Repair or "All Recognition"), and a bevy of other terms to cynical GIs ridiculing the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

's penchant for acronyms. Terms then end up being used in other industries as these GIs complete their services. For example, FUBAR evolved into Foobar as GIs coming home from World War II matriculated into

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, with the first written use from a club at MIT called the Tech Model Railroad Club., computer-dictionary-online.org

References

External links

Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War

Military Terms of the Modern Era

Military Slang Acronyms and Abbreviations

Aviation Slang-Pilot Slang
* * * {{Wiktionary-inline, Appendix:U.S. Navy slang Military humor

Acronym slang in the U.S. Military

See also

References

Further reading

External links