SE
Abbreviation with 8 meanings
| Stands for | Southeast |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 8 |
| Categories | Geography & Places, Units & Measurements, Medical, Science & Engineering, Business & Finance, Education & Academia |
| Also written | Se |
SE has eight meanings. The most common are Southeast (direction) and Standard error (statistics); it can also stand for Sweden, Status epilepticus, Selenium, Sales engineer and Societas Europaea (European company), plus 1 more listed below.
Meanings of SE at a glance
| # | SE stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southeast | Geography & Places › Direction |
| 2 | Standard error | Units & Measurements › Statistics |
| 3 | Sweden | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 4 | Status epilepticus | Medical › Neurology |
| 5 | Selenium | Science & Engineering › Chemical Element |
| 6 | Sales engineer | Business & Finance › Job Title |
| 7 | Societas Europaea (European company) | Business & Finance › Company Type |
| 8 | Structural Engineer | Education & Academia › Professional Certification |
1. Southeast
Geography & Places · Direction Abbreviations
Intercardinal direction between south and east, at 135 degrees, and a quadrant suffix in cities such as Washington, D.C., Albuquerque and Calgary. Weather forecasts give winds as SE when they blow from the southeast.
Example: The office is at 400 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM.
In business and news writing SE often means the Southeast region of the US. SE is also Sweden's ISO country code and, in software, can mean special edition.
2. Standard error
Units & Measurements · Statistics Abbreviations
The standard deviation of a statistic's sampling distribution, measuring how much an estimate such as a mean or regression coefficient would vary across repeated samples. Smaller SEs mean more precise estimates.
Example: The coefficient was 0.42 (SE = 0.11), significant at the 0.001 level.
For a sample mean, SE equals the SD divided by the square root of n, so quadrupling the sample size halves the standard error. Regression tables list SEs in parentheses under coefficients, and dividing a coefficient by its SE gives its t statistic. A 95 percent confidence interval is roughly the estimate plus or minus 2 SE.
3. Sweden
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Sweden's code comes from Sverige; Stockholm is the capital, SWE the alpha-3 code and the krona SEK. Sweden joined NATO in 2024 after two centuries of military non-alignment.
Example: Swedish IBANs begin with SE and contain 24 characters.
The language code for Swedish is sv, which is the country code for El Salvador, a frequent localization bug. The vehicle sign is S. The .se registry also runs .nu.
4. Status epilepticus
Medical · Neurology Abbreviations
Seizure lasting five minutes or longer, or repeated seizures without return to baseline between them, a neurological emergency that can cause brain damage and death. Treatment follows a timed protocol starting with benzodiazepines such as lorazepam or midazolam.
Example: Ongoing convulsions for 8 minutes despite IM midazolam: SE, levetiracetam load and intubation prepared.
The International League Against Epilepsy redefined the time thresholds in 2015: treatment should begin at 5 minutes for convulsive seizures because long-term injury becomes likely after about 30 minutes. The ESETT trial (2019) found levetiracetam, fosphenytoin and valproate equally effective as second-line drugs. Refractory SE requires continuous anesthetic infusions with EEG monitoring.
5. Selenium (Se)
Science & Engineering · Chemical Element Abbreviations
Selenium (atomic number 34) conducts electricity better in light than in darkness, a property that made it the photosensitive material in early photocopiers, light meters and photocells. It is an essential trace nutrient found in Brazil nuts, though excess intake is toxic; it is also used to decolorize glass.
Example: Two Brazil nuts can supply more than the daily requirement of Se, so avoid eating them by the handful.
Jöns Jacob Berzelius discovered selenium in 1817 in sludge from a sulfuric acid plant. He named it from Greek selene (moon) because it closely resembled tellurium, which had been named after the Earth. Selenium's photoconductivity, noticed in 1873, inspired some of the earliest experiments in transmitting images electrically.
6. Sales engineer
Business & Finance · Job Title Abbreviations
Technical sales professional who explains and demonstrates complex products, such as enterprise software, industrial equipment or networking hardware, and designs solutions that meet customer requirements. SEs partner with account executives during the sales cycle.
Example: The SE built a proof of concept connecting our platform to the customer's ERP in two weeks.
Also titled solutions engineer, presales engineer or solutions consultant. SEs need both technical depth and presentation skills, and are often paid a mix of salary and variable compensation. SE is also a common abbreviation for software engineer and for the compass direction southeast.
7. Societas Europaea (European company)
Business & Finance · Company Type Abbreviations
Public limited company form created under EU law that allows a business to operate across the European Economic Area under a single corporate structure and to move its registered office between member states. An SE needs subscribed capital of at least €120,000.
Example: Allianz SE, Airbus SE and SAP SE are among Europe's largest companies using the European company form.
The EU regulation enabling SEs took effect in 2004. An SE can only be formed through specific routes, such as a cross-border merger or conversion of an existing public company, and must negotiate employee-involvement arrangements. The Latin name is used in every EU language.
8. Structural Engineer
Education & Academia · Professional Certification Abbreviations
Specialty license, required in a handful of states including Illinois and Hawaii for designing significant structures, earned by passing the 16-hour NCEES Structural Engineering exam covering vertical and lateral forces. In other states structural engineers practice under a general PE license.
Example: The hospital project requires an SE to design the seismic bracing system.
The SE exam is taken over two days, one focused on gravity loads and one on wind and seismic loads. Many structural engineers in states without an SE license still take the exam for credibility and mobility. Holders often list "S.E." after "P.E."
Related abbreviations
More direction abbreviations
- NNW – North-northwest
- NW – Northwest
- S – South
- SB – Southbound
- SSE – South-southeast
- SSW – South-southwest
- SW – Southwest
- TN – True north
See all 23 direction abbreviations →
More statistics abbreviations
- RSS – Residual sum of squares
- RV – Random variable
- R² – Coefficient of determination
- SD – Standard deviation
- SEM – Standard error of the mean
- SPC – Statistical process control
- SRS – Simple random sample
- SS – Sum of squares
See all 88 statistics abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.