RAS Syndrome: Redundant Acronym Syndrome Syndrome

Definition:

A humorous initialism for "Redundant Acronym [or Abbreviation] Syndrome syndrome": the redundant use of a word that's already included in an acronym or initialism.

Such redundancies, says Bryan Garner, "may be passable in speech--especially with unfamiliar acronyms--[but] they should be avoided in formal writing" (Garner's Modern American Usage, 2009).

The term RAS syndrome first appeared in the magazine New Scientist (May 26, 2001).

See Examples and Observations below. Also see:

Examples and Observations:

LCD display for liquid crystal display display
CNN network for Cable News Network network
RAM memory for random-access memory memory
SARS for severe acute respiratory syndrome syndrome
MVUE estimator for minimum-variance unbiased estimator estimator
CMS system for content management system system
BBC corporation for British Broadcasting Corporation corporation
IRA account for individual retirement account account
"Redundancies Everywhere You Look"
"'I overheard part of your ATM story and I just couldn't let it go by. Do you know what ATM stands for?'

"'Of course. Automated teller machine.'

"'He went to college,' Robin said.

"'Okay, how about PIN?

"'You mean as in PIN number?'

"'Aha!' she exclaimed again. 'Now do you see it?' The bartender brought her drink and she took a careful sip, then came back to them. 'You said you were at the ATM machine and forgot your PIN number. The automated teller machine machine and the personal information number number. Redundancies everywhere you look.'"
(John Lescroart, The Hunter. Dutton, 2012)

Reply RSVP
"The request 'reply RSVP' is pretty much the same thing as you're being asked to reply twice. . . . [T]he word 'Sahara' means 'great desert' in Arabic (via Tuareg), so referring to that big, hot, sandy place in North Africa as the 'Sahara Desert' is totally tautological, meaning as it does 'great desert desert.'"
(Roger Horberry, Sounds Good on Paper: How to Bring Business Language to Life. Bloomsbury, 2010)

Also Known As: PNS syndrome ("PIN number syndrome syndrome"), acronym-assisted pleonasm