Abbreviation

HTML 4.01 Element Reference

By Lee Underwood

Return to HTML 4.01 element index page

Name: Abbreviation

<abbr> ... </abbr>

Description: Indicates the highlighted word is an abbreviation.

Browser Compatibility: NN: 6.2+

Attributes:
  • class
  • dir
  • id
  • lang
  • onclick
  • ondblclick
  • onkeydown
  • onkeypress
  • onkeyup
  • onmousedown
  • onmousemove
  • onmouseout
  • onmouseover
  • onmouseup
  • style
  • title

Code Example:

<abbr title="HyperText Markup Language">HTML</abbr>

Comments: For use in Internet Explorer, you could use a JavaScript solution. Using the <acronym> element would defeat the purpose of the abbreviation element when read by screen readers.

An abbreviation is (usually) made up of the first letter of a series of words, e.g., HTML. An acronym is an abbreviation of several words in such a way that the abbreviation itself forms a word, e.g., NASA, BASIC.

Note: According to the W3C recommendations, neither the abbreviation nor the acronym elements are to be used for "tool tips".




Created: March 15, 2005

URL: http://webreference.com/html/reference/specs/