Bacronia Apgar: A Mnemonic Analysis
On this date in 1983 retired navy commander Meredith G. Williams (1924-2012) won a “create a new word” contest run by the Washington Post. Williams’ winning neologism was “bacronym” which he defined as the “same as an acronym, except that the words were chosen to fit the letters.”
An example of a bacronym is the Apgar score, a rating scale used to evaluate the health of newborn babies. The test was named for its creator, Virginia Apgar. Then, years later it became the bacronym APGAR, a mnemonic device to help its users remember the test’s key variables: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration.
An example of a bacronym is the Apgar score, a rating scale used to evaluate the health of newborn babies. The test was named for its creator, Virginia Apgar. Then, years later it became the bacronym APGAR, a mnemonic device to help its users remember the test’s key variables: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration.