List of Latin abbreviations 4104172 218189491 2008-06-09T15:34:17Z Fru1tbat 1611554 /* Most common abbreviations and usages */ dab p.m. [[Latin]] was once the universal academic language in Europe. From the eighteenth century authors started using their mother tongue to write books, papers or proceedings. However, many Latin abbreviations continued to be used due to their precise simplicity and also Latin's status as a learned language. ==Most common abbreviations and usages== The most common Latin words, [[abbreviations]], and [[initialisms]] still in use are: *[[A.D.]] (''[[anno Domini]]''), "in the year of the Lord".<ref name="USGPOstyle">{{cite web |url=http:/1/www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/2000/chap09.pdf |title=UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Style Manual |accessdate=2007-04-16}}</ref> *[[a.m.]] (''[[12-hour clock|Ante Meridiem]]''), "before midday".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *[[Circa|c.]] & [[Circa|ca.]] (''[[circa]]''), "around (about, approximately)".<ref name="Maurer">{{cite web|url=http://www.udallas.edu/classics/resources/EditorsSigla.htm|title=COMMONEST ABBREVIATIONS, SIGNS, ETC. USED IN THE APPARATUS TO A CLASSICAL TEXT|accessdate=2007-04-16}}</ref> *[[cf.]] (''[[confer]]'') means "bring together" and hence "compare" (''confer'' is the imperative of the Latin verb ''conferre'').<ref name="Maurer" /> :Example: "These results were similar to those obtained using different techniques (cf. Wilson, 1999 and Ansmann, 1992)." *[[Résumé|C.V.]] or CV (''[[curriculum vitae]]''), meaning "course of life". A document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education. The exact usage of the term varies between British English and American English. *[[cwt.]] (''centum weight''), "[[Hundredweight]]": <ref name="USGPOstyle" /> N.B. this uses a mixture of Latin and English abbreviation. *[[D.D.]] (''Divinitatis Doctor''), "[[Doctor of Divinity|Teacher of Divinity]]": <ref name="LatinAbbr"> {{cite web|url=http://latin-phrases.co.uk/abbreviations/|title=Latin Abbreviations|accessdate=2007-08-20}}</ref> *[[D.Lit.]] (''Doctor Litterarum''), "[[Doctor of Literature|Teacher of Literature]]": <ref name="LatinAbbr" />. *[[D.M.]] (''Doctor Medicinae''), "[[Doctor of Medicine|Teacher of Medicine]]": <ref name="LatinAbbr" /> *[[D.Phil.]] (''Doctor Philosophiæ''), "[[Doctor of Philosophy|Teacher of Philosophy]]" *[[D.V.]] (''[[Deo volente]]''), "God willing". *DG, D.G. or DEI GRA (''[[Dei gratia]]''), "by the grace of God".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> A part of the monarch's title, it is found on all British coins. *[[ead.]] (''[[eadem]]''): see ''id.'' below. *[[et al.]] (''[[et alii]]'') means "and others", or "and co-workers".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> It can also stand for [[et alia]], "and other things", or et alibi, "and other places". :Example: "These results agree with the ones published by Pelon et al. (2002)." *[[etc.]] (''[[et cetera]]'') (archaic abbreviations include ''&c.'' and ''&/c.'') means "and the others", "and other things", "and the rest".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> :Example: "I need to go to the store and buy some pie, milk, cheese, etc." *[[e.g.]] (''[[exempli gratia]]'') means "for example", "for instance".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> :Example: "The shipping company instituted a surcharge on any items weighing over a ton, e.g., a car or truck." *[[fl.]] or flor. (''[[floruit]]'') means the period of time during which a person, school, movement or even species was active or flourishing (literally, "he/she/it flourished").<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *F D or FID DEF (''[[fidei defensor]]''), "defender of the faith". A part of the monarch's title, it is found on all British coins. *[[ibid.]] (''[[ibidem]]'') means "in the same place (book, etc.)"<ref name="USGPOstyle" />, and is used in citations. It should not be confused with the following abbreviation. It is better pronounced ''ibídem'', with stress on the second ''-i-'' (as it was in Latin). *[[id.]] (''[[idem]]'') means "the same (man)".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> It is used to avoid repeating the name of an author (in citations, footnotes, bibliographies, etc.) Note that if we are quoting an authoress we should use the corresponding feminine form, i.e. [[ead.]] (''[[eadem]]''), "the same (woman)" (''eadem'' is pronounced with stress on the first ''e-''). *[[i.a.]] ("[[inter alia]]") means "among other things". :Example: "Ernest Hemingway- author (i.a. 'The Sun Also Rises')" *[[i.e.]] (''[[id est]]'') means "that is" or "in other words".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> :Example: "For reasons not fully understood there is only a minor PSI contribution to the variable fluorescence emission of chloroplasts (Dau, 1994), i.e. the PSI fluorescence appears to be independent from the state of its reaction centre (Butler, 1978)." *[[J.D.]] (''[[Juris Doctor]]''), literally means "teacher of law/rights" *[[lb]]. (''[[Ancient Roman units of measurement|libra]]'') means "scales", used to indicate the [[pound (mass)]].<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *[[M.O.]] (''[[modus operandi]]'') means "method of operating". *[[N.B.]] (''[[nota bene]]'') means "note well". Some people use "Note" for the same purpose.<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> Usually written with [[majuscule]] letters. :Example: "N.B.: All the measurements have an accuracy of 5% as they were calibrated according to the procedure described by Jackson (1989)." *[[nem. con.]] (''[[nemine contradicente]]'') means "with no-one speaking against". This does NOT mean "unanimously", but simply that nobody voted against - in other words, there may have been abstentions. * [[op. cit.]] ([[Op. cit.|opere citato]]) means in the same article, book etc. as was stated before. It is most often used in citations in a similar way to 'ibid', though where 'ibid' would usually be followed by a page number, 'op.cit.' would mean on exactly the same page as before. *[[p.a.]] (''[[per annum]]'') means "through a year", and is used in the sense of "yearly".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *[[per cent.]] (''per centum''), "Per hundred": <ref name="LatinAbbr" /> *[[PhD]] (''Philosophiæ Doctor''), "[[Doctor of Philosophy|Teacher of Philosophy]]" *[[12-hour clock|p.m.]] (''Post Meridiem''), "after midday".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *[[p.m.a.]] (''[[post mortem auctoris]]'') means "after the author's death". *[[p.p.]] & [[per pro.]] (''[[per procurationem]]''), "through the agency of". *[[Pro re nata|PRN]] ([[Pro re nata|''pro re nata'']]), "as needed" in relation to medication. *[[pro tem.]] (''[[pro tempore]]''), "for the time being", temporarily, in place of.<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *[[Postscript|P.S.]] (''[[post scriptum]]'') means "after what has been written"; it is used to indicate additions to a text after the signature. *[[Q.D.]] (''[[quaque die]]''), "every day", used on medications to indicate when to take. *[[Q.E.D.]] (''quod erat demonstrandum'') means "which was to be demonstrated".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> Cited in many texts at the end of a [[mathematical proof]]. *[[q.v.]] (''quod vide'') means "which see".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> Used after a term or phrase that should be looked up elsewhere in the current document or book. For more than one term or phrase, the plural is ''quae vide'' (qq.v.). *Re (''[[in re]]'') means "in the matter of", or "concerning". Often used to prefix the subject of replies to [[memoranda]] and latterly, [[email]]s. *REG (''regina''), "queen". A part of the monarch's title, it is found on all British coins minted when the reigning monarch is a queen. ''Rex'', "king" (not an abbreviation) is used when the reigning monarch is a king. *[[R.I.P.]] (''[[requiescat in pace]]''), "may he/she rest in peace": a short prayer for a dead person. It can also mean ''requiescant'' (plural) ''in pace'', i.e. "may they" etc. *[[s.o.s.]] ("[[si opus sit]]"), "if there is need", "if occasion require", "if necessary".<ref name="Hughes"> {{cite web|url=http://www.herbdatanz.com/pharmaceutical_latin_abbreviations.htm|title=Pharmaceutical Latin. Abbreviations.|accessdate=2007-04-16}}</ref> *[[viz.]] (''[[videlicet]]'') means "namely, to wit, precisely, that is to say".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> In contradistinction to ''i.e.'' and ''for example'', ''viz.'' is used to indicate a detailed description of something stated before, and when it precedes a list of group members, it implies (near) completeness. Therefore, the speaker of this sentence :Example: "The noble gases, viz. helium, neon, argon, xenon, krypton and radon, show a non-expected behaviour when exposed to this new element." used ‘to wit’ or ‘namely’ in his speech to tell the audience that the classical noble gases are exactly named by the seven words following. Had the speaker chosen to name only two or three members of the group, he would have framed the list with ‘e.g.’ *[[Versus|vs]] or v. (''[[versus]]'') means "against" (sometimes is not abbreviated). :Example: "From Figure 1 that shows force (in newtons) vs. mass (in kilograms) we can derive the acceleration of the body." ==Less common abbreviations and usages== Many words and abbreviations have been in general use, but are not often used nowadays: *in litt. (''[[in litteris]]'') : Latin for "in a letter [or other documented correspondence]"; often followed by a date. *AMDG (''[[Ad maiorem Dei gloriam]]'' or ''[[ad majorem Dei gloriam]]'') : Latin for "For the greater glory of God". It is the [[motto]] of the [[Society of Jesus]]. *a.U.c. (''[[ab Urbe condita]]'') : Latin for "from the foundation of [[Rome|the City]]"<ref name="USGPOstyle" />: it refers to the [[founding of Rome]], which occurred in [[750s BC|753 BC]] according to [[Livy]]'s count. Used as a reference point in ancient Rome for establishing dates, before being supplanted by other systems. Also ''anno Urbis conditae'' (a.U.c.) ("in the year that the City [Rome] was founded"). For example, the year 2007 [[AD]] is the year 2760 ''ab Urbe condita'' (753 + 2007 = 2760); though, rigorously speaking, the year ''a.U.c.'' begins on April 21, the ''[[birthday of Rome]]'' (i.e. the day that [[Romulus]] was traditionally believed to have founded the Eternal City). *[[dwt.]] (''[[denarius]] weight'')<ref name="USGPOstyle" />: "[[Pennyweight]]". N.B. this is a mixture of Latin and English abbreviations. *et seq. (''[[et sequens]]''), et seqq. (''et sequentes'', or ''et sequentia'') : "and the following" (use ''et seqq.'' if "the following" is plural).<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *inst. (''[[instante mense]]'') : "this month" (see also ''prox.'' and ''ult.''). *[[loq.]] (''loquitur''), "S/he speaks": <ref name="LatinAbbr" /> *N.N. (''[[nomen nescio]]'') : "I do not know the name": used as a placeholder for unknown names in e.g. the [[Book of Common Prayer]]. *O.D. (''[[oculus dexter]]'') : "the right eye". Used in vision correction prescriptions. *O.S. (''[[oculus sinister]]'') : "the left eye". Used in vision correction prescriptions. *prox. (''[[proximo mense]]'') : "next month" (see also ''inst.'' and ''ult.'').<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *Q.E.C. (''[[quod erat construendum]]'') : "which was to be constructed" (after constructing something, normally to show its existence). *Q.E.F. (''[[quod erat faciendum]]'') : "which was to be done".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *[[sc.]] (''[[scilicet]]'') means literally "one may know".<ref name="USGPOstyle" /><ref name="Maurer" /> Sometimes abbreviated ''scil.'' It is equivalent to the English phrase "to wit" and has virtually the same meaning as "videlicet" (literally, "one may see"), which is usually abbreviated as "viz." These expressions are not to be confused with "i.e." (id est), equivalent to "that is". Their meanings are similar, but there is a distinction which should be observed: "sc." and "viz." introduce a clarification; "i.e." introduces an equivalence. *S.T.T.L. (''[[sit tibi terra levis]]'') means "May the earth rest lightly on you" and was used in similar manner to R.I.P. *s.v. (''[[sub verbo]]'') : "Under the word or heading", as in a dictionary *[[Th.D.]] (''Theologiae Doctor'') : "[[Doctor of Theology|Teacher of Theology]] *ult. (''[[ultimo mense]]'') : "last month" (see also ''inst.'' and ''prox.'').<ref name="USGPOstyle" /> *V.C. (''[[vi coactus]]'') : "on constrains". Used when forced to sign ("or else..."). *v.i. (''[[vide infra]]'') means "see below". *v.s. (''[[vide supra]]'') means "see above". == See also == *[[inter alia]] : Latin for "among other things", but not an abbreviation. *[[inter alios]] : Latin for "among others", i.e. people, or legal entities, but not an abbreviation. * [[sic]], Latin for "thus", but not an abbreviation. * [[stet]], Latin for "let it stand", but not an abbreviation. Used in editing to indicate that something should remain as it is, and not be changed. * [[List of classical abbreviations]] * [[List of Latin phrases]] * [[List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions]] * [[List of ecclesiastical abbreviations]] ==External links== *{{cite web|url=http://asgle.classics.unc.edu/abbrev/latin/|title=Common abbreviations in Latin inscriptions published in ''L'année épigraphique'' 1888-1993|accessdate=2007-04-16}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/dept/student_information/latin.html |title=Linguists' Latin |accessdate=2007-04-16}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.ioe.ac.uk/caplits/writingcentre/essay.5ownwords.abbreviationlist.htm |title=Latin words and abbreviations |accessdate=2007-04-16}} *{{cite web |url=http://kiss.ifas.ufl.edu/kiss5.htm |title=What Latin abbreviations mean |accessdate=2007-04-16}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/Wordpower/handouts/abbrevs.htm |title=LATIN AND GREEK ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH |accessdate=2007-04-16}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/2000/chap09.pdf |title=UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Style Manual |accessdate=2007-04-16}} ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Latin words and phrases|*]] [[Category:Lists of phrases]] [[Category:Lists of abbreviations|Latin]] [[be-x-old:Спіс лацінскіх скаротаў]] [[bg:Латински съкращения]] [[de:Liste lateinischer Abkürzungen]] [[tr:Latince kısaltmalar listesi]]