Latin Abbreviations

Many technical and scientific writers use Latin abbreviations. That’s fine, except far too many writers have no idea what they mean and use them incorrectly. Note the following in particular.

i.e.: the abbreviation for id est, which means that is. It introduces an appositive and should be used that way. In other words, what follows the i.e. should rename what precedes it. It does not introduce an example. A period follows both letters, and a comma follows the abbreviation. As an appositive, the phrase including the i.e. should either be enclosed by commas or, better yet, in parentheses. The abbreviation is not underlined, nor is it in italics.

e.g.: the abbreviation for exempli gratia, which means for example. This abbreviation introduces an example, or at the most two. Examples are not meant to be exhaustive nor to include every possibility. As with i.e., a period follows both letters, and a comma follows the abbreviation. Examples introduced by e.g. should be in parentheses. The abbreviation is not underlined, nor is it in italics. Please note that i.e. and e.g. are not synonymous and cannot be substituted for one another.

etc.: the abbreviation for et cetera, which means and everything (or everyone) else who had anything to do with it. This abbreviation is a problem. First of all, the et means and, quite literally, so saying and etc. is not, repeat NOT, acceptable. Second, most people use etc. at the end of the list. When a writer introduces a list in technical or scientific writing, the reader should have a reasonable expectation of a complete list. When the list ends in etc., the reader immediately assumes the worst: either the writer doesn’t know the rest of the list, or the writer is too lazy to find out the rest of the list. It works a lot better if the writer introduces the list with the words such as, which immediately alerts the reader that what follows is not a complete list and wasn’t intended to be. If you insist on using etc., it should not be in italics, nor do you need another period following it to indicate you are done with the sentence.

cf.: a useful little abbreviation, if you know how to use it. It is the abbreviation for the Latin word confer and means consult or compare. This abbreviation directs a reader to a standard work that discusses the basics of whatever the article is about. It may also direct the reader to an article that discusses in detail some aspect of the information that the writer mentions but doesn’t want to discuss because it is not associated with the main issues of the article. Cf. may also send a reader to an article or other source that provides additional support or possibly contradictions that the writer does not feel it necessary to discuss in detail in this particular article. Note that the abbreviation has only one period. As with the other abbreviations here, use no italics (and in this case, no comma following the period).

NB: the abbreviation for nota bene, which means literally note well. This is nearly always placed in parentheses and is used to emphasize a point. I have seen this abbreviation as it stands here, N.B., n.b., and N.b. Apparently, we haven’t settled on a standard usage for this one. To be consistent with all the other abbreviations, I suggest n.b. The abbreviation is followed by a colon in correct usage—n.b.: You should punctuate Latin abbreviations correctly.