Cal
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Food Calorie (kilocalorie) |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Units & Measurements, Geography & Places, Technology & Computing |
| Also written | CAL, cal, Cal. |
Cal has four meanings. The most common are Food Calorie (kilocalorie) (engineering unit) and California (US state traditional); it can also stand for Calorie (gram calorie) and Client Access License.
Meanings of Cal at a glance
| # | Cal stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food Calorie (kilocalorie) | Units & Measurements › Engineering Unit |
| 2 | California | Geography & Places › US State Traditional |
| 3 | Calorie (gram calorie) | Units & Measurements › Engineering Unit |
| 4 | Client Access License | Technology & Computing › Software |
1. Food Calorie (kilocalorie)
Units & Measurements · Engineering Unit Abbreviations
The "large calorie" used for food energy, equal to 1,000 small calories or one kilocalorie (4.184 kJ). A capital C historically marked it, and US nutrition labels list Calories per serving; a typical adult needs about 2,000 a day.
Example: One slice of pepperoni pizza contains roughly 300 Cal.
Everyday writing uses lowercase "calories" for food energy, so the capital-C distinction is mostly lost. US Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Labels outside North America often show both kcal and kJ; Australian packaging lists kilojoules first. The old rule that a pound of body fat equals 3,500 Calories is now considered an oversimplification.
2. California (Cal.)
Geography & Places · US State Traditional Abbreviations
Older abbreviation for California found in 19th- and early 20th-century documents and still required by The Bluebook for California cases and statutes, as in Cal. Rptr. or Cal. 4th. Newspapers moved to Calif. long ago, so Cal. in modern prose usually signals a legal or historical source.
Example: See People v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628 (1972), which struck down the death penalty under the state constitution.
In sports, Cal is the nickname of the University of California, Berkeley, whose teams are the Golden Bears; that use carries no period. Cal. also abbreviates calorie and caliber. For mail, only the postal code CA is correct, and AP prefers Calif.
3. Calorie (gram calorie) (cal)
Units & Measurements · Engineering Unit Abbreviations
Heat needed to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius, defined as exactly 4.184 joules for the thermochemical calorie. Chemists and physicists use it for small energy quantities, though SI prefers the joule.
Example: Neutralizing a strong acid with a strong base releases about 13,700 cal per mole of water formed.
This small calorie is one thousandth of the food Calorie, a source of endless confusion, since nutrition labels count kilocalories but call them calories. French scientist Nicolas Clement is credited with introducing the calorie in the 1820s. Several definitions exist, including the International Table calorie of 4.1868 J.
4. Client Access License (CAL)
Technology & Computing · Software Abbreviations
Microsoft license granting a user or device the right to connect to server software such as Windows Server, Exchange Server or Remote Desktop Services. Organizations buy CALs in addition to the license for the server itself.
Example: We need 50 RDS CALs before the terminal server's grace period runs out.
CALs come in two types: user CALs cover one person on any number of devices, and device CALs cover one device used by anyone. Remote Desktop Services allows a 120-day grace period before RDS CALs must be installed. Software licensing audits frequently uncover CAL shortfalls, which can be costly to settle.
Related abbreviations
More engineering unit abbreviations
- bar – Bar
- bhp – Brake horsepower
- BTU – British thermal unit
- C – Degree Celsius
- cfm – Cubic feet per minute
- Ci – Curie
- CID – Cubic inch displacement
- CRI – Color Rendering Index
See all 103 engineering unit abbreviations →