Meanings
plural recursive acronyms
- An acronym in which a word (often the first) of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself.
I used the odd variable name “tato”, mentioning that it is a recursive acronym standing for “tato (and tato only)”. Using this fact you can expand “tato” any number of times.
1983 April, Douglas R. Hofstadter, “Metamagical Themas”, in Scientific American, →ISSN, page 20
Origin
From recursive + acronym, originating in early hacker culture and later popularized by Douglas Hofstadter.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch recursief acroniem
- recursief acronieman acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself
Finnish rekursiivinen akronyymi
- rekursiivinen akronyymian acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself
French acronyme récursif
- acronyme récursifan acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself
Polish akronim rekurencyjny
- akronim rekurencyjnyan acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself
Spanish acrónimo recursivo
- acrónimo recursivoan acronym in which a word of the phrase represented by the acronym is the acronym itself
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with recursive acronym
All rhymes →Cite this entry
recursive acronym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/recursive%20acronym
“recursive acronym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/recursive%20acronym. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “recursive acronym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/recursive%20acronym.
Source: recursive acronym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.