It’s just that the abbreviations were created for efficiency in a much older form of texting: the telegraph. But if these abbreviations for President of the United States, First Lady of the United States, and Supreme Court of the United States sound like something we collectively made up for the sake of efficiency while texting, that’s because we kind of did. It may seem like Twitter is responsible for the invention of the abbreviations POTUS, FLOTUS, and SCOTUS, since the terms became the official Twitter handles for the president, first lady, and the supreme court during Barack Obama’s two terms in office. RSVP may have gotten its start as a polite reminder to reply to an invitation, but now, w hen it’s written on a modern birthday, wedding, or shower invitation, it’s more like a thinly veiled command to people to please let us know if we need to buy more appetizers. RSVP to reserve a seat,” or “In order for us to reserve a party room, please RSVP by December 9.” You might see things like, “The gardening class is free to the public. RSVP itself has essentially become a new verb. RSVP comes from the 19th century French phrase répondez s’il vous plaît, which translates to “please respond.”īut while most modern English-speakers still write “RSVP” in all capital letters like a standard abbreviation,

The salutation has since evolved again to become the kiss-only signature XXXX in modern texts, chat messages, and emails. The signer would then seal the document with a kiss to show sincerity. By the 1760s, this practice had evolved and spread all over the globe, and people signed letters using XOXO (kisses and hugs). This usage dates back to the Middle Ages, when X was signed to represent the Christian cross at the end of a letter. Most people recognize X as the roman numeral for the number 10, but one of the earliest and most common uses for X in English is as a symbol for a kiss. X might be one of those letters that leaves you cursing when it’s on your Scrabble tray, but it’s actually one of the most diverse abbreviations in the English language.

Here are some of the oldest abbreviations in the English language that prove shortening words and coming up with unique acronyms has always been a thing. In some cases, there are even entire words that only exist because of abbreviations. It’s easy to forget that we use abbreviations for almost everything, from the months of the year to abbreviating titles like doctor and misses.

Abbreviations for words using leters