1

If I abbreviate a word taking the first letter, then the number of letters in between, and then the last letter, what do you call this action?

For example:

Internationalization → I18N

Mitch
  • 71,423
lorddarkangel
  • 131
  • 4
  • 3
    A10N, I would say. – MetaEd Nov 12 '12 at 13:30
  • Welcome to ELU. Making up names for things is explicitly off-topic here (see the FAQ); but since you apparently made up this action yourself you can name it anything you want. I'm partial to 'Dorothy'. – StoneyB on hiatus Nov 12 '12 at 13:31
  • 5
    @StoneyB this is not made up by the OP. I18N and L10n are extremely common abbreviations in my profession. They are even expressly mentioned in umpteen Wikipedia articles. Coincidentally, that makes this general reference. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeronym – RegDwigнt Nov 12 '12 at 13:44
  • Wikiedia says they're called numeronyms, for one type of which letters between the first and last are replaced with a number representing the number of letters omitted, such as "i18n" for "internationalization". – FumbleFingers Nov 12 '12 at 13:51
  • @RegDwighт Who'd a thunk it?! Thanks, that's fascinating. I'll leave my comment in place as a warning against hybris. – StoneyB on hiatus Nov 12 '12 at 13:52
  • While not disputing that the question might be answered by a single appropriate reference, I note that the Wikipedia article does not do so. "Numeronym" is a noun. The OP sought a word for the action of making a numeronym, which would be a verb. – Fortiter Nov 12 '12 at 14:23
  • There's actually a name for this? I've never seen an example other than "I18n". Note the Wikipedia article cited by RedDwight includes any abbreviation that includes digits under this heading, mixing together some quite different things, from "K9" (where the number is coincidentally pronounced the same as the syllable it replaces) to "911", which is not an "abbreviation" in any normal sense of the word but rather the actual digits dialed to reach emergency services in most of the U.S. Their list of examples then includes some really odd ones, like "WWII" for World War II, where "II" is ... – Jay Nov 12 '12 at 17:33
  • ... apparently an abbreviation for ... "II"? – Jay Nov 12 '12 at 17:35
  • In this question link there are other examples. – lorddarkangel Nov 12 '12 at 17:50
  • I think this question would have fared better had the O.P. managed to give some additional examples, or somehow communicated that this practice was not as uncommon as the uninitiated might surmise. – J.R. Nov 12 '12 at 19:31

1 Answers1

1

Abbreviation. (Or, you might say, A10N.)

Numeronyms are those words which are sometimes spelled using numerals. Originally a term for telephone numbers having an alphanumeric meaning. Examples:

  • 800-DIGITAL (344-4825) – once the toll-free number for the legendary computer company

  • i18n, pronounced internationalization – abbreviation using numerals to represent the number of omitted letters

  • K9, pronounced canine – abbreviation using numerals to represent the sound of omitted letters

  • l33t, pronounced leet (slang for elite) – using numerals which resemble letters they replace

  • 07734, pronounced hello – using numerals which (upside down) resemble letters they replace

  • G8 and Y2K, pronounced gee-eight and wye-two-kay – words originally coined using numerals

MetaEd
  • 28,488