What, if anything, does "RAW" stand for?

Question

I understand that RAW files contain data straight from the sensor, that they're used as input to the production process that results in a final image, and that RAW isn't really one format but a collection of device-specific and mostly proprietary formats. But the fact the files are always described as "RAW" (all uppercase) rather than "raw" gives the appearance that the name is or was some sort of acronym. If that's the case, what does or did "RAW" stand for. If it's not, how did it come to be written that way?

Answer 1

Rather than use all proprietary names for raw files, we use raw because in the end, after it comes from the sensor and its own processing the files are in their base and untouched state. ie raw. the reason for it being all uppercase, is nothing specific but most likely to follow the conventions of other image formats. Everyone else has all uppercase, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, so RAW is uppercase probably to just fit in, its easier to set it apart from the regular word raw in a sentence also