Plural of AWOL; soldiers or personnel who are absent without leave from their military duties.
Acronym for 'Absent Without Leave' that became a noun, popularized in 20th-century military terminology. The acronym converted to a countable noun by adding standard plural '-s.'
AWOL became part of standard English because modern warfare required precise terminology for desertion—the military essentially created new words to manage the problem of soldiers disappearing.
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