Originally Posted by bensyd
Doesn't every definition in your very comprehensive list fit Dave Noble's definition though? They all say "....a word formed...."
Dave said ATM is not an acronym but by most of the definitions it is.
There is no requirement that it must form some sort of spoken word. Some definitions talk of the spoken word while others do not. It is not an acronym by one definition but is by another.
And Acronym Finder classes it as an acronym
Several years ago I did a subject called "Data Communication". It was full of acronyms and many had several meanings.
It was "acronym hell"