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NIST Time FAQ: Why is UTC used as the acronym for Coordinated Universal Time instead of CUT?

Tags: time, acronyms, utc

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  1. susam
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    Quoting from NIST Time FAQ:

    Quoting from NIST Time FAQ:

    Why is UTC used as the acronym for Coordinated Universal Time instead of CUT?

    In 1970, the Coordinated Universal Time system was devised by an international advisory group of technical experts within the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU felt it was best to designate a single abbreviation for use in all languages in order to minimize confusion. For example, in English the abbreviation for coordinated universal time would be CUT, while in French the abbreviation for "temps universel coordonné" would be TUC. To avoid appearing to favor any particular language, the abbreviation UTC was selected.

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