| Acronism | Meaning |
| AAO | Anglo-Australian Observatory |
| AAT | Anglo-Australian Telescope |
| ACU | Acquisition and Control Unit |
| ADU | Analog to Digital Units |
| AG | Acquisition and Guiding |
| AIV | Assembly, Integration and Verification |
| ANSI | American National Standard Institute |
| AO | Adaptive Optics |
| CCD | Charge Coupled Device |
| CDR | Critical Design Review |
| CF | Conventional Filter |
| CF | Cam Follower Rollers |
| CORBA | Common Object Request Broker Architecture |
| COS | Common Object Services |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit |
| CS | Charge Shuffling |
| CTE | Charge Transfer Efficiency |
| DCS | Detector Control System |
| DEIMOS | DEep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrogaph (Keck) |
| EMC | Electro-Magnetic Compability |
| FEA | Finite Element Analysis |
| FITS | Flexible Image Transport System |
| FOCAS | Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (Subaru) |
| FORS | Focal Reducer / Low Dispersion Spectrograph |
| FOV | Field of View |
| FPB | Focal Plane Bench |
| GCS | GTC Control System |
| GLSci | Gerald Luppino Scientific |
| GMOS | Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph |
| GTC | Gran Telescopio Canarias |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface |
| HW | Hardware |
| IAC | Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias |
| IAUNAM | Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico |
| ICM | Instrument Calibration Module |
| IDT | Instrument Definition Team |
| IFU | Integral Field Unit |
| IMACS | Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph |
| I/O | Input/Ouput |
| ICD | Interface Control Document |
| IOC | Input/Output Controller |
| IR | Infrared |
| IRAF | Image Reduction and Analysis Facility |
| LCU | Local Control Unit |
| LN2 | Liquid Nitrogen |
| LRIS | Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph |
| MAT | Marconi Applied Technologies (formely EEV) |
| MBE | Molecular Beam Epitaxy |
| MCS | Mechanisms Control System |
| MIT/LL | Massachusets Institute of Technology / Lincoln Laboratories |
| MLM | Mask Loader Mechanism |
| MPMNT | Mean Preventive Maintenance Night Time |
| MOS | Multi-Object Spectroscopy |
| NFCS | Nasmyth Focal Station Co-ordinate System |
| MSM | Mask Selection Mechanism |
| NTT | New Technology Telescope |
| NIR | Near Infrared |
| OCS | OSIRIS Control System |
| OICS | OSIRIS Instrument Control System |
| OGCS | OSIRIS Global Co-ordinate System |
| ORM | Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos |
| OSIRIS | Optical System for Imaging and low-Intermediate-Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy |
| PCI | Peripheral Component Interconnect |
| PI | Principal Investigator |
| PLC | Programmable Logic Controller |
| QE | Quantum Efficiency |
| RD | Reference Document |
| RMS | Root Mean Squared |
| RON | Read-Out Noise |
| RTOS | Real Time Operating System |
| RUP | Rational Unified Process |
| SAC | Scientific Advisory Committe (GTC) |
| SAT | Scientific Advisory Team (OSIRIS) |
| SDSS | Sloan Digital Sky Survey |
| SDSU | San Diego State University |
| SS | Support Structure |
| SSS | Support Structure Subsystem |
| TBC | To Be Confirmed |
| TBD | To Be Determined |
| TF | Tunable Filter |
| TTF | Taurus Tunable Filter |
| ULL | Universidad de La Laguna |
| VME | VERSAmodule Eurocard |
| VPH | Volume Phase Holographic Gratings |
| WCS | World Coordinate System |
Last update September 2, 2005, by Héctor Castañeda