Latin Abbreviations
53 abbreviations · part of Common Abbreviations
Latin abbreviations such as e.g., i.e., etc. and et al. are part of everyday English writing, while others (ibid., op. cit., q.v.) belong to scholarly footnotes, and a few survive only on coins, prints, gravestones and old business letters. American English normally writes them lowercase with periods (e.g., i.e.), while British style often drops the periods (eg, ie). Most style guides treat the common ones as naturalized English, set them in roman rather than italic type, and prefer to keep e.g., i.e. and etc. inside parentheses, notes and lists in formal prose.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| a.m. | Ante meridiem (before midday) | Marks clock times from midnight up to noon in the 12-hour system used in the United States, Canada, Australia and much of the English-speaking world. |
| a.u.c. | Ab urbe condita (from the founding of the city) | Counts years from the legendary founding of Rome, traditionally dated to 753 BC. |
| AD | Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord) | Label for years counted from the traditional year of Jesus' birth in the Western calendar, as in AD 1066. |
| ad inf. | Ad infinitum (to infinity) | Describes something that continues endlessly or repeats without limit. |
| ad lib. | Ad libitum (at one's pleasure) | Indicates freedom to improvise or to vary something as desired. |
| aet. | Aetatis (aged, at the age of) | Records a person's age, typically on portraits, tomb inscriptions and memorial plaques. |
| c. | Circa (around, approximately) | Placed before a date or number that is approximate, most often a historical year that cannot be pinned down exactly. |
| cet. par. | Ceteris paribus (other things being equal) | Qualifies a claim by assuming that every factor except the one under discussion stays unchanged. |
| cf. | Confer (compare) | Directs the reader to another source or passage for comparison, typically one that offers a contrasting or analogous view. |
| CV | Curriculum vitae (course of life) | A detailed record of a person's education, work history, publications and achievements submitted with job and academic applications. |
| d. | Denarius (penny) | Denotes pence in Britain's pre-decimal currency, where 12 pennies made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound. |
| D.G. | Dei gratia (by the grace of God) | Forms part of the royal title inscribed on British and Commonwealth coins, asserting that the monarch reigns by divine authority. |
| D.V. | Deo volente (God willing) | Adds a note of piety and contingency to a stated plan, meaning the event will happen if God allows. |
| del. | Delineavit (drew it) | Identifies the draftsman who made the drawing from which a print, map or scientific plate was engraved. |
| e.g. | Exempli gratia (for example) | Introduces one or more examples drawn from a larger set, so the list that follows is illustrative rather than complete. |
| et al. | Et alii (and others) | Shortens a list of people, most often the authors of a source, to the first name plus "and others." Academic style guides set exact thresholds for when it replaces the… |
| et seq. | Et sequens (and what follows) | Indicates that a reference covers the cited page, section or statute together with those after it. |
| etc. | Et cetera (and the rest) | Signals that a list continues with further items of the same kind that the reader can infer. |
| ex lib. | Ex libris (from the books of) | Precedes the owner's name on a bookplate, the decorative label pasted inside a book's front cover to show ownership. |
| F.D. | Fidei defensor (Defender of the Faith) | Abbreviates a title held by English and later British monarchs, still printed on UK coins as F D. |
| fec. | Fecit (made it) | Follows an artist's or craftsman's name on paintings, prints, sculpture, clocks and scientific instruments to claim authorship. |
| fl. | Floruit (flourished) | Gives the period when a person was known to be active, used when birth and death dates are unknown. |
| i.a. | Inter alia (among other things) | Signals that the items mentioned are only some of those that could be listed. |
| i.e. | Id est (that is) | Introduces a restatement, clarification or the complete specification of what came before, not a sample. |
| ibid. | Ibidem (in the same place) | Cites the same source as the immediately preceding footnote or endnote, sometimes with a new page number. |
| Id. | Idem (the same) | Short-form citation pointing to the authority cited immediately before, used to avoid repeating a full citation. |
| inst. | Instante mense (this month) | Old commercial shorthand for "of the current month," placed after a day number. |
| loc. cit. | Loco citato (in the place cited) | Refers to exactly the same passage, including the same page, of a work cited in an earlier, non-consecutive note. |
| M.O. | Modus operandi (method of operating) | Describes a person's or group's characteristic way of doing something, especially a criminal's recognizable pattern of behavior. |
| N.B. | Nota bene (note well) | Flags a point the reader must not overlook, such as a warning, an exception or a crucial condition. |
| nem. con. | Nemine contradicente (with no one dissenting) | Records in minutes that a motion or resolution passed with no votes against it, even if some members abstained. |
| op. cit. | Opere citato (in the work cited) | Points to a work already cited in full in an earlier note, combined with the author's name and a new page number. |
| p.a. | Per annum (per year) | Expresses a rate or amount per year, most commonly in salaries, interest rates and rents. |
| p.m. | Post meridiem (after midday) | Marks clock times from noon until just before midnight on the 12-hour clock. |
| p.p. | Per procurationem (by agency, on behalf of) | Written beside a signature when one person signs a letter on behalf of another, such as an assistant signing for a manager who is away. |
| P.P.S. | Post-post-scriptum (a second postscript) | Marks a second afterthought that follows an existing P.S. at the end of a letter or email. |
| P.S. | Post scriptum (postscript) | Introduces an afterthought added after the signature of a letter or at the end of an email or card. |
| pinx. | Pinxit (painted it) | Credits the painter of the original picture on which an engraving or printed reproduction is based. |
| pro tem. | Pro tempore (for the time being) | Marks a temporary holder of an office or a stopgap arrangement. |
| prox. | Proximo mense (next month) | Indicates a day in the coming month in old-fashioned correspondence and public notices, such as meeting dates announced in advance by clubs, companies and courts. |
| q.v. | Quod vide (which see) | Tells the reader that a term just mentioned has its own entry elsewhere in the same encyclopedia, dictionary or index. |
| QED | Quod erat demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrated) | Latin phrase written at the end of a proof to signal that the claimed result has been established. |
| R.I.P. | Requiescat in pace (may he or she rest in peace) | Expresses a wish for the eternal rest of someone who has died, traditionally carved on gravestones and spoken in Christian prayers for the dead. |
| re | In re (in the matter of, regarding) | Introduces the subject of a memo, letter or notice, meaning "about" or "concerning." In business correspondence it sits on its own line before the body, and in casual… |
| s.l. | Sine loco (without place) | Replaces the place of publication in a bibliographic description when a book or document names none. |
| s.n. | Sine nomine (without name) | Stands in for the publisher's name in a bibliographic record when the item does not identify one. |
| S.P.Q.R. | Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and People of Rome) | Served as the emblem of the ancient Roman state, inscribed on monuments, coins and military standards. |
| s.v. | Sub verbo (under the word) | Cites an entry in a dictionary or encyclopedia by its headword instead of by page number. |
| sc. | Scilicet (namely, that is to say) | Inserts a clarifying word that the original text left unstated, particularly in translations, scholarly editions and legal glosses. |
| ult. | Ultimo mense (last month) | Refers to a day in the previous month in traditional business letters, as in "your letter of the 28th ult." It allowed writers to cite earlier correspondence compactly. |
| v. | Versus | Separates the names of opposing parties in a case name, as in Brown v. |
| viz. | Videlicet (namely) | Introduces an exact enumeration or specification of something just mentioned, much like "namely." The term is formal and somewhat old-fashioned, surviving mostly in… |
| vs. | Versus (against) | Sets two opposing parties, teams, options or ideas against each other, as in sports matchups, debates and comparisons. |
More common abbreviations
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