ANZAC or Anzac?

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

My shorter Oxford, purchased for me when at University in the 1970s, does not contain either ANZAC (which is understandable, as it is an acronym) or Anzac the word.

That's interesting Mike, does it contain the word Nazi? I'm now wondering when the word Anzac first appeared in dictionaries, I had assumed it would date back at least to 1921 Protection of Word 'Anzac' Regulations, but on second thoughts it usually takes a while for dictionaries to incorporate new words, esp. if their use is mainly localized. Next time I'm near a secondhand bookshop I'll wander in and check a few old editions.

Of interest in this discussion is the Australian Army's official stance, which seems pretty clear from their webpage headed 'Anzac Day'. The word appears 20 times in the text as follows:

Anzac: 1 (Australia's desire to recognize the Anzac tradition)
Anzacs: 4 (including: These became known as Anzacs and the pride they took in that name continues to this day.)
Anzac Day: 12 (including: Anzac Day is one of Australia's most important national commemorative occasions.)
Anzac biscuit: 5 (including: The Anzac biscuit is one of the few commodities able to be legally marketed in Australia using the word 'Anzac', which is protected by Federal Legislation.)

The acronym ANZAC appears 3 times, twice in the definition plus one anomaly:

What does 'ANZAC' stand for?
'ANZAC' stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

What happens on ANZAC Day?
Evidently an error (given the Anzac Day heading and 12 further appearances)

http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/Traditions/Anzac-Day