Common text abbreviations (e.g., i.e., et al., etc.) | Annotation hierarchies | Scriptor

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Common text abbreviations (e.g., i.e., et al., etc.)
- Common Latin abbreviations
  
  Several Latin-derived abbreviations are commonly used in both everyday and academic English (like e.g., i.e., et al., etc.). These abbreviations do not need to be explained.
  
  Usually, these abbreviations take a full stop, “.“, after the last letter in each abbreviated word, although some publications dispense with the periods (like eg, ie, et al, etc). Some journals put all Latin abbreviations in italics, either with or without the periods (et al., e.g., i.e., etc.). Whichever style is used, it is important that the style be used consistently throughout the text.
- and/or
  - and/or
    
    The word and/or can be used to simplify writing. For example,
    
    There are many ways to detect convective events if they produce heavy rainfall and/or lightning.
    
    means that the events can be detected if they produce either heavy rainfall or lightning, or both heavy rainfall and lightning. Note that no blank space occurs between the words and the slash.
- anon.
  - anon.
    
    The abbreviation anon. stands for “anonymous.” This abbreviation is typically used in a list of references to refer to a work by an anonymous author.
- c. / ca.
  - Identifying the Effects of Low Emission Zones, ch. 7
  - Predicting Aviation Hazards During Convective Events, ch. 2
  - c. / ca.
    
    The abbreviation c. or ca. stands for the Latin word “circa,” which means approximately. With a numeral, the symbol ~ may be used.
- cf.
  - Cf.
    
    The abbreviation cf. stands for the word “confer” and means “compare to.” It is sometimes italicized: cf.
- def.
  - def.
    
    The abbreviation def. means “definition.”
- e.g. and i.e.
  - Using e.g. and i.e.
    
    The two abbreviations e.g. and i.e. are easily confused with each other. The abbreviation e.g. stands for the Latin exempli gratia, which means “for example”. Use e.g. when giving a non-comprehensive list or example.
    
    Many colors can be created by combining primary colors (e.g., orange is a combination of red and yellow).
    
    The abbreviation i.e. stands for the Latin id est, which means “that is” or “in other words”. Use i.e. when rephrasing or giving clarifying information.
    
    It is generally supposed that there is no overlap between P and NP-Complete problems (i.e., that NP-Complete problems cannot be solved in polynomial time).
- ed. / ed.s
  - ed./eds.
    
    The abbreviation ed. can either mean “editor” or “edition.” The plural forms of the word, “editors” and “editions” are abbreviated eds.
- et al.
  - Using et al.
    
    When citing a reference with more than two (or three) authors, it is common to give only the last name of the first author followed by et al., which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase et alii, meaning “and others”. Note that a period comes after the letters “al”, because this word is an abbreviated form, but not after “et”, because this word is not an abbreviation.
    
    Efforts towards a sustainable strategy have been initiated by the Swedish government (Gerhardt et al., 2013).
- etc.
  - The Distribution of Human Capital in Sweden, ch. 5
  - Using etc.
    
    The abbreviation etc. stands for the Latin et cetera, which means “and other things”. The abbreviation is used to indicate that a given list is not comprehensive. The word is usually followed by a full stop, but note that if etc. ends a sentence, only one full stop is used.
    
    We included several characteristics about the measuring sites (whether they were urban, rural, etc.) in our data.
    
    Monitored pollution types included particulate matter, gases, etc. We also collected information from the factories themselves.
- ibid.
  - ibid.
    
    The abbreviation ibid is an abbreviation for the Latin word ibidem, which means “in the same place”. Ibid. is used in a reference list when several works by the same author are listed consecutively.
- illus.
  - illus.
    
    The abbreviation illus. means either “illustration” or “illustrated by.”
- ms. / mss.
  - ms./mss.
    
    Ms. is an abbreviation for manuscript. Mss. means manuscripts.
- n/a
  - n/a
    
    The abbreviation n/a means “not applicable.” It is used to indicate when there is no relevant information available.
- NB
  - NB
    
    The abbreviation NB stands for the Latin word “nota bene,” which means “take note” or “notice.” It is used to indicate that readers should take special notice of something.
- nd
  - Predicting Aviation Hazards During Convective Events, ch. 2
  - Predicting Aviation Hazards During Convective Events, ch. 4
  - nd
    
    The abbreviation nd may appear as n.d., ND, or N.D. In a table reporting results, nd usually stands for “not determined”. When used in a citation, nd usually means “no date”, for example with an internet source. (The full reference should report the date that the information was accessed.)
    
    Convective initiation is the first stage in any kind of convective event (Groenemeijer et al., n.d.).
- no.
  - Anonymous Artefacts and Revealing Runes, ch. 3
  - no.
    
    The abbreviations no. (sometimes seen as N°) means “number” (from Latin numero). This abbreviation can only be used in front of a numeral; it cannot stand on its own as a noun within a text.
- p. / pp.
  - p./pg. / pp./pgs.
    
    The abbreviations p. and pg. mean “page.”; pp. and pgs. mean “pages.”
- pseud.
  - pseud.
    
    The abbreviation pseud. stands for “pseudonym.” A pseudonym is a fictitious name assumed to hide one’s true identity.
- pub.
  - pub.
    
    The abbreviation pub. can either mean “published by” or “publisher.”
- qtd
  - qtd. in
    
    The abbreviation qtd. in, when used in a citation, stands for “quoted in”, and is used when quoting from a secondary source. As with many abbreviations, the full stop at the end of qtd is optional.
    
    Simone de Beauvoir’s famous words “one is not born a woman; one becomes one” (qtd in Moi, Sexual/Texual… 92) formed the starting point for second-wave feminism.
- trans.
  - trans.
    
    The abbreviation trans. stands for “translation.”
- UP
  - UP
    
    The abbreviation UP stands for “university press.” A university press is a publishing house tied to a university.
- viz.
  - viz.
    
    Viz. is an abbreviation of the Latin word videlicet, which means “namely.”
- vol. / vols.
  - vol.
    
    The abbreviation vol. means “volume” and commonly refers to one book in a series of related books. The plural form of the word, “volumes,” is abbreviated vols.
- vs.
  - Laundry Machine Booking System, ch. 2
  - vs.
    
    The abbreviation vs. comes from the Latin word versus, which means “against.”