Latin Abbreviations and their English meaning

The English language is made up of collection of words that were originally borrowed from other languages one of such is Latin, the ancient Roman language. Latin is the extinct Indo-European language of ancient Rome and its empire, adopted in medieval Europe as the language of education, culture, religion, and government. Although now an extinct language that is no longer learned as a native language by a speech community (with very few fluent speakers today), Latin has had a major influence on the English language that continues to see wide use in the academic community to this very day.

This weeks article will quickly look at some common English abbreviations that are used in the English language today but were originally borrowed from the ancient Roman language, Latin. In future articles we will also look at Latin words that will be translated into the English language, that you should find entertaining and useful. So, here are some abbreviations that you might know in English but possibly never knew the origin of such words. You might find yourself using these abbreviations almost daily without knowing that you are actually using (writing) words of Latin. Interestingly today, although the Latin language has a diminished role in most school curriculum and also as a spoken language, it is important to know that Latin roots continue to this very day to serve as a major source for the derivation of new terms in the area of science and technology by scientists in their respective field of study. Not so much a dead language at all. So, some Latin terms here might make you ponder but nevertheless you will not only learn these abbreviations but most importantly will be aware of there uses in the modern English language. Now, you do not have to be a scholar, lawyer, scientist, doctor or even a priest to write or speak Latin but, if you want to be fluent to some extent then, get this book. Have fun!

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[This list may look distorted in IE]

Latin                           English

A

A.B. (Artium Baccalaureus)....... Bachelor of Arts
A.D. (anno domini)............... in the year of the Lord
ad fin. (ad finem)............... near the end [of the page]
ad lib. (ad libitum)............. at pleasure
aff. (ffinis).................... having affinity with but not
identical to
Ag (argentum).................... silver
A.M. (ante meridiem)............. before midday
Au (aurum)....................... gold
A.U.C. (ab urbe condita)......... from the city's founding
auct. (auctorum)................. of authors [written like that
by various authors]

B

C
c., ca. (circa).................. about, around
cf. (confer)..................... compare
c.v. (curriculum vitae).......... curriculum vitae

D
d. (denarius).................... penny
D.V. (Deo volente)............... God willing

E
ead.(eadem)...................... in the same place,
author(female form of ibid.)
e.g. (exempli gratia)............ for [the sake of an] example
et al. (et alii)................. and others
etc. (et cetera)................. and the rest, and so forth
et seq. (et sequens)............. and the following pages
ex. (exemplar)................. example or specimen [the plural
is written exx.]

F
fec. (fecit)..................... he made [it]

G

H

I
ibid. (ibidem)................... in the same place,
author(esp. previous reference)
id. (idem)....................... the same, i.e., as mentioned
above
indet.(indeterminans)............ unidentified
i.e. (id est).................... that is
in litt.(in litteris)............ in correspondence
in loc. (in loco)................ in the place
inv. (invenit)................... he invented [it]

J

K

L
lb. (libra)...................... pound
LL. D. (Legum Doctor)............ Doctor of Laws
loc. cit. (loco citato).......... in the place cited

M
M.(meridies)..................... midday
M.D. (Medicinae Doctor).......... Doctor of Medicine

N
N.B. (Nota bene)................. Note well
no. (numero)..................... by number

O

op.(opus)........................ work (of art)
op. cit. (opere citato).......... in the work cited

P
p. (pagina)....................... page [singular; plural is
paginae, abbreviated pp.]
per cent. (per centum)............ per cent, per hundred
Ph. D. (Philosophiae Doctor)...... Doctor of Philosophy
P.M. (post meridiem).............. after midday
pro tem. (pro tempore)............ for the time, temporarily
prox. (proximo mense)............. next month
P.S. (post scriptum).............. written after

Q
Q.E.D. ........................... Which was to be demonstrated
(quod erat demonstrandum)
q.v. (quod vide).................. which see

R
R.I.P.(requiescat in pace)........ rest in peace

S
s.l.(sensu lato).................. in the broad sense
sp. (species)..................... species [singular; plural is
species, abbreviated as spp.]
sp. nov. (species nova)........... new species [singular; plural
is species novae, abbreviated as spp. nov.]
ssp. (subspecies)................. subspecies [singular; plural
is subspecies, abbreviated sspp.]
s. str. (sensu stricto)........... in the strict sense
S.P.Q.R. ....................... The Senate and the Roman People
(Senatus Populusque Romanus)
s.v. (sub vero)................... under the word

T
ult. (ultimo mense)............... last month

V
vs. (versus)...................... against
viz. (videlicet).................. namely
v.v. (vice versa)................. the other way round

W, X, Y, Z

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