Latin abbreviations
And when not to use them
Gerald B. Moulds
et al.
et al. - ET ALII “And others.” Used to shorten a list of
names of people.
CORRECT: “That paper by Adams, Richards, et al.
explains it all.”
INCORRECT: “High-calorie desserts like ice cream,
cheesecake, chocolate, et al” (should be “etc.”).
etc.
etc. - ET CETERA “And the rest” or “and so on.”
Used to shorten any list, particularly of non-living
items
CORRECT: “like iron, magnesium, etc.”
INCORRECT: “like iron, magnesium, ect.”, “like iron,
magnesium, et.c.”, and “like iron, magnesium, etc…”
i.e.
i.e. - ID EST – “That is” (think “in explanation” or “in
other words”).
CORRECT: “The delegates were defenestrated, i.e.
thrown out a window.”
INCORRECT: “The Earth’s crust is made up of
various layers of rock, i.e. granite and basalt” (should
be “e.g.”).
e.g.
e.g. - EXEMPLI GRATIA “For example”.
CORRECT: “the largest dinosaurs were mostly
vegetarian (e.g. the brontosaurus, whose diet was
primarily sea kelp).”
INCORRECT: “Snipers use concealment, e.g. the art
of hiding” (should be “i.e.”)
cf.
cf. - CONFER “Compare”
CORRECT: “Graham describes the end of the
Emperor Tiberius' reign as a socially progressive era (cf.
Suetonius' The Lives of the Twelve Caesars).”
INCORRECT: “Some Christian holidays involve giftgiving (cf. Christmas)” (should be “e.g.”).
Other common abbreviations
q.v. -QUOD VIDE “Which see” tells the reader that
the term can be found defined elsewhere in this work.
n.b. - NOTA BENE “Note well”.
ca. - CIRCA “About”.
Example: The height of the English Renaissance, ca. 1600 A.D.
vs. - VERSUS “Against”.
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Sic - SIC “Thus” Used in brackets next to mistakes
from original quotes.
“Dear Editor, I hate you’re [Sic] stupid newspaper and
all your stupid rapporters [Sic].”
Note: Sic is not an abbreviation, it’s an entire word.