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 ...
s/
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]
See also
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List of U.S. government and military acronyms
**
List of U.S. Air Force acronyms and expressions
**
List of U.S. Marine Corps acronyms and expressions
**
List of U.S. Navy acronyms and expressions
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Army creole
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Grande Armée slang (French Army slang during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
)
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Vertidue
*
Voice procedure
*
Junjiahua, also known as "military speech", a collection of scattered modern day Chinese dialects derived from the lingua franca of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
(1368–1644) military
References
Further reading
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External links
Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam WarMilitary Terms of the Modern EraMilitary Slang Acronyms and AbbreviationsAviation Slang-Pilot Slang*
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* {{Wiktionary-inline, Appendix:U.S. Navy slang
Military humor