I should get back to work but I started drafting an acronym glossary [EDIT: Or forum-specific words like niblings (or nephlings? was that from here?)]. This is a rough draft! Everything’s getting lumped together right now but maybe later we’ll decide diving things out into sections is more manageable? We’ll figure it out eventually.
Let me know what else we should add! I’m all ears.
+1 - Adding your support to a previous or quoted statement.
401K or 401(k) - [United States specific] A 401(k) is a retirement account with tax advantages offered by employers to their employees. It is named after a section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Workers can make contributions to their 401(k) accounts through automatic payroll withholding, and their employers can match some or all of the contributions. (Investopedia)
403(b) - [United States specific] A 403(b) plan, also known as a tax-sheltered annuity plan, is a retirement plan for certain employees of public schools, employees of certain Code Section 501(c )(3) tax-exempt organizations and certain ministers. (IRS)
457 - [United States specific] The 457 plan is a type of nonqualified, tax advantaged deferred-compensation retirement plan that is available for governmental and certain nongovernmental employers in the United States. (Wikipedia)
529 - [United States specific] A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged investment vehicle designed to encourage saving for the future higher education expenses of a designated beneficiary. (Wikipedia)
ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards. ACAB is an acronym used as a political slogan associated with dissidents who say they are subjected to political persecution and police brutality. Critics of this term contend that the linguistic nature of this term inherently attacks police officers as individuals and believe other terms should be used in its place to support police reform, while some proponents of the term say the intent refers to the police as an institution and does not necessarily reflect upon the individual law enforcement officer. (Wikipedia entry)
AFAB - Assigned Female at Birth. A person who was told that they were female or a girl when they were born and whose legal documents reflect that assignment. This decision is usually made upon delivery and by looking at the person’s genitals.
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
AFK - Away From Keyboard
AMAB - Assigned Male At Birth. A person who was told that they were male or a boy when they were born and whose legal documents reflect that assignment. This decision is usually made upon delivery and by looking at the person’s genitals.
ATM - At The Moment
BF - Boyfriend
BFN - Big Fat Negative on a negative pregnancy test
BFP - Big Fat Positive on a pregnancy test
BIL - Brother-In-Law
Binary - The two social options given regarding sex and gender. Male/Female, Man/Woman, Boy/Girl.
Bisexual - Someone attracted to men and women OR someone attracted to people of more than one gender
BLM – Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter is a decentralized political and social movement advocating for non-violent civil disobedience in protest against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.
Cisgender - Someone whose gender identity does align with the gender they were assigned
CW - Content Warning. Act similarly to a trigger warning (TW) but for content that is not as graphic or that is mentioned only in passing.
CD - In fertility/reproductive context, Cycle Day. Usually followed by a number; indicates days since the start of your period this cycle
CD - In a financial context, Certificate of Deposit. A certificate of deposit (CD) is a product offered by banks and credit unions that provides an interest rate premium in exchange for the customer agreeing to leave a lump-sum deposit untouched for a predetermined period of time. (Investopedia)
DD - Darling (Dear?) Daughter
DH - Darling (Dear?) husband
DM - Direct Message, sending a message to only one user. Used interchangeably with PM or private message.
DS - Darling (Dear?) Son
DW -Darling (Dear?) Wife
ELI5 - Explain Like I’m 5. Used when you want someone to explain something the simplest way possible.
ETA - Edited To Add
FIL - Father-In-Law
FTFY - Fixed That For You
FWIW - For What It’s Worth
Gaslighting - Gaslighting is a form of mental abuse in which information is twisted or spun, selectively omitted to favor the abuser, or false information is presented with the intent of making victims doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity. More info here.
Gay - When a man is sexually attracted to other men OR when a person is sexually attracted to people who are the same gender as them OR an umbrella term for the LGBTQ+ community
GF - girlfriend
HAES - Health At Every Size
IDC, IDFC - I Don’t Care, I Don’t F***ing Care
IE - Intuitive Eating
IIRC - If I Remember Correctly
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
IRA or Individual Retirement Account - [United States specific] A tax-advantaged investing tool that individuals use to earmark funds for retirement savings. (Investopedia)
IUI - intra-uterine insemination
IVF - in vitro fertilization
LDR - long distance relationship
Lesbian - Women who are attracted to other women OR anyone other than cisgender men attracted to women
LGBTQ+/GLBT/LGBT/LGBTQIAA - Terms appropriate for the community of people who are not cisgender and heterosexual. Each letter corresponds to a different identity. There are many variations and these terms are usually ever evolving.
- G - Gay
- L - Lesbian
- B - Bisexual
- T - Transgender or Two Spirit
- Q - Queer or Questioning
- I - Intersex
- A - Asexual
- A - Ally
MC – Miscarriage
MIL - Mother-In-Law
NB/Enby/Non-Binary - A person who does not identify as being part of the gender/sex binary. They may feel like they are neither a man or a woman, that they are both, or any other combination.
NBD - No Big Deal
Nibling or nephling - Gender neutral term to refer to one’s niece/nephew.
NSFW - Not Safe For Work
OP - original post/original poster
OTOH - On The Other Hand
PM - Private Message, sending a message to only one user. Used interchangeably with DM or direct message.
RAVES – RAVES is an acronym which provides a step-by-step process to help with developing a healthy relationship with food. RAVES stands for Regularity, Adequacy, Variety, Eating Socially, Spontaneity. It is important to remember that RAVES is a process and does take time. It involves starting with regularity and working through RAVES sequentially through to spontaneity until food can be eaten in a natural way. (Bodymatters.com)
Queer - Umbrella term for LGBTQ+ people, or a vague identity term regarding gender or sexuality. Can be offensive - was historically a slur, has recently been reclaimed by some people in the LGBTQ+ community.
RRSP or a registered retirement savings plan - [Canada specific] a type of financial account for holding savings and investment assets. RRSPs have various tax advantages compared to investing outside of tax-preferred accounts. (Wikipedia)
SIL - Sister-In-Law
SO - significant other. Gender neutral indicator for one’s partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, etc.
Super or Superannuation - [Australia specific] a form of forced savings for Australian employees. It is paid by your employer, invested on your behalf, and used to fund your lifestyle in retirement. Your employer needs to pay a minimum of 9.5% of your ordinary time earnings into a super fund. (Wikipedia)
TFSA - Tax-Free Savings Account. [Canada specific] A TFSA is an account in which contributions, interest earned, dividends, and capital gains are not taxed, and can be withdrawn tax-free. While it’s called a savings account, a TFSA can hold certain investments including mutual funds, securities, and bonds as well as cash. This account is available to individuals ages 18 and older in Canada and can be used for any purpose. (Investopedia)
TIL - Today I Learned
TL;DR - Too Long; Didn’t Read. Used by someone who wrote a large post/article/whatever to show a brief summary of their post as it might be too long.
Transgender - Someone whose gender identity does not align with the gender they were assigned
TTC - Trying To Conceive
TW - Trigger Warning. Warns the audience that the following media may be triggering for things such as, but not limited to, eating disorders, self harm/injury, bipolar, domestic violence, etc.
TWW - Two Week Wait. the two week period between ovulation and your usual period during which you don’t know whether you managed to get pregnant.
Two Spirit - Someone who is Indigenous and has both masculine and feminine traits, can also be an umbrella term for Indigenous folks who in Western colonial culture would be under the queer umbrella term
TY - Thank You
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