also IRA, 1921, initialism (acronym) for Irish Republican Army, the full name of which attested from 1919.

central nervous system depressant, 1954, proprietary name (Smith, Kline & French) formed from a rearrangement of various elements in the full chemical name.

Latinization of name of Ibn Sina (980-1037), Persian philosopher and physician. Full name Abū 'Alī al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā al-Balkhī.

"the communist guerrilla force in Vietnam 1954-1976," also Vietcong, 1957, from Vietnamese, in full Viêt Nam Cong San, literally "Vietnamese communist."

also Vietminh, 1945, name of the independence movement in French Indo-China 1941-50, in full Viêt Nam Dôc-Lâp Dông-Minh "Vietnamese Independence League."

type of barbiturate, originally used to calm patients before anesthesia and operation, 1930, proprietary name of pentobarbitone sodium, formed from letters and syllables from N(a) "sodium" + full chemical name 5-ethyl-5-1-methylbutyl barbiturate.

18c.-19c. West African kingdom, a native name of unknown etymology. Made a French protectorate in 1894, it gained full independence in 1960, and in 1975 changed its name to Benin. Related: Dahoman, Dahomean.

in full, Acapulco de Juarez, resort town in western Mexico, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) acapulco "place of the large canes," from aca(tl) "cane (plant)" + -pul "large" + -co "place." Acapulco gold as the name of a local grade of potent marijuana is attested from 1965.

in reference to a kind of loose, full gown worn by women, 1878, from Old Mother Hubbard, nursery rhyme, which was printed 1805, written by Sarah Catherine Martin (1768-1826) but based on earlier material of unknown origin. The name is attested from 1591.

abbreviation of Centers for Disease Control, renamed 1970 from earlier U.S. federal health lab, originally Communicable Diseases Center (1946). Since 1992, full name is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the usual initialism (acronym) remains CDC.