Acronym

===Early examples in English===
The use of Latin and Neo-Latin terms in [[vernacular]]s has been pan-European and pre-dates modern English. Some examples of acronyms in this class are:

*''[[12-hour clock|A.M.]]'' (from Latin {{lang|la|ante meridiem}}, 'before noon') and ''[[12-hour clock|P.M.]]'' (from Latin {{lang|la|post meridiem}}, 'after noon')
*''A.D.'' (from Latin {{lang|la|[[Anno Domini]]}}, 'in the year of our Lord'), whose complement in English, ''B.C.'' ([[Before Christ]]), is English-sourced

The earliest example of a word derived from an acronym listed by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]]'' is "abjud" (now "[[abjad]]"), formed from the original first four letters of the [[Arabic alphabet]] in the late eighteenth century.<ref>{{citation |contribution=abjad, ''n.'' |contribution-url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/271930 |title=Oxford English Dictionary}}.</ref> Some [[acrostics]] pre-date this, however, such as the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] witticism arranging the names of some members of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]'s Committee for Foreign Affairs to produce the [[Cabal ministry|"CABAL" ministry]].<ref>{{citation |contribution=cabal, ''n.'' |contribution-url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/25693 |title=Oxford English Dictionary}}.</ref>

''[[Okay|OK]]'', a term of disputed origin, dates back at least to the early nineteenth century and is now used around the world.