The local grocery store has a big bin of used books for $1. After seeing a 1983 computer dictionary's description of LISP, I knew I had to buy it:

It says:

LISP acronym for LIST PROCESSING a high-level programming language use primarily for list processing, symbol manipulation, and recursive operations: it can handle many different data types, treat programs as data, and provide for the self-modification of the program as it is executing: generally considered a difficult language to learn

(Emphasis mine.)