What does SOS stand for?

1910, from International Morse code letters, chosen arbitrarily as being easy to transmit and difficult to mistake. Not an acronym for "save our ship" or anything else. Won out over alternative suggestion C.Q.D., which is said to mean "come quickly, distress," or "CQ," general call for alerting other ships that a message follows, and "D" for danger. SOS is the telegraphic distress signal only; the oral equivalent is mayday.

Originally, it is an abbreviation for "Save Our Ship", which ships at sea would use when in distress and needing help.

The Marconi Yearbook of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony , 1918 states, "This signal [SOS] was adopted simply on account of its easy radiation and its unmistakable character. There is no special signification in the letter themselves, and it is entirely incorrect to put full stops between them [the letters]." All the popular interpretations of "SOS," "Save Our Ship," "Save Our Souls," or "Send Out Succour" are simply not valid. Stations hearing this distress call were to immediately cease handling traffic until the emergency was over and were likewise bound to answer the distress signal.

I always heard Save Our Ship.

SOS is the frequent description for the worldwide Morse code misery sign (· · · — — — · · ·). This misery sign grow to be first observed via the German government in radio rules effective April a million, 1905, and grew to grow to be the worldwide customary whilst it grow to be secure interior the 2d worldwide Radio-telegraphic convention, which grow to be signed on November 3, 1906, and grew to grow to be triumphant on July a million, 1908. In widespread utilization, SOS grew to grow to be linked with words which includes "shop Our Souls," "shop our deliver" "shop Our Shelby," "Shoot Our deliver", "Sinking Our deliver", "Survivors On Shore", and others. it fairly is frequently time-honored via "shop Our deliver". besides the incontrovertible fact that, those words have been a later progression, maximum probably used to help keep in mind the acceptable letters—something time-honored as a backronym.

It has no inherent meaning, and properly is not coded as S O S but as . . . - - - . . . without the normal separation between letters.

It was selected as something that would be distinct, easily remembered, and something that would not be produced by normal coding.

save our souls or save our ship

i think it's save our souls or save our ship.