Star Wars: What Does AT-AT Stand For?

To enforce its fascist rules and snuff out any resistance to it, the Galactic Empire has a robust military at its disposal. The backbone is formed by the legions upon legions of Imperial stormtroopers, who go out on the front lines of various worlds to remind potential enemies of the Empire's vast power. Of course, sometimes simple ground troops aren't enough. Now and again, to punish particularly stubborn dissenters, the Empire brings out turrets, speeders, and even armored walkers — one of the most imposing of which makes its grand "Star Wars" debut in "Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back."

Brought out during the Battle of Hoth, AT-ATs are hulking, four-legged metal beasts that do quite a number on the Rebel Alliance's military forces. One even nearly ends Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) story prematurely by attempting to step on him. However, their extended name is rather unremarkable, All Terrain Armored Transport. If nothing else, at least the name plainly spells out what they are: heavily armored transports designed to traverse a wide array of landscapes. Of course, as the Rebellion proves, it's not too hard to drop one of them so long as you have good aim and a cable to wrap tightly around their legs.

There's no debate about it. AT-AT walkers are imposing, formidable, and now legendary pieces of "Star Wars" iconography. At the same time, there is a bit of debate regarding the pronunciation of their acronymic name. 

Since their introduction back in 1980, AT-ATs have become a widely adored form of "Star Wars" vehicle. They've maintained a constant presence in toy aisles, reemerged in multiple modern "Star Wars" projects, and have even taken their place as one of the most iconic fictional forms of transportation ever created. This may be all well and good, but the Empire's legendary All Terrain Armored Transports have also found themselves at the center of a nerdy controversy over the years. Fans can't seem to agree on the pronunciation of the AT-AT acronym.

As evidenced by a Reddit thread on the subject from u/RedPresto, two camps have been in conflict with one another over the past few decades. Some feel each letter in AT-AT should be stated when saying the name, "ay-tee-ay-tee." Meanwhile, others believe the proper pronunciation is to take the acronym and turn it into the word "at" twice, "at-at." Which is right? According to longtime "Star Wars" creative Dave Filoni during an interview at Star Wars Celebration 2016, both pronunciations are correct in his eyes. After all, he was the protégé of franchise mastermind George Lucas, who Mark Hamill confirmed wasn't much of a stickler for name pronunciations back in the day.

Despite the input from "Star Wars" creatives, surely, fans will continue to debate the "right" way to say AT-AT for years to come. Of course, if they want to avoid the debate entirely and take the long way around, they can always just call them All Terrain Armored Transports.