Full FormsLatin short forms used in English
Some of the most common short forms in English are not English at all. They came from Latin, the language of learning in Europe for many centuries, and one well-known one came from French.
Because the words behind them are foreign, people use these every day without knowing what the letters stand for, and that leads to mistakes. Once you know that "e.g." means "for example" and "i.e." means "that is", you will not confuse them again.
| Short form | Words | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| RSVP | Répondez s'il vous plaît | French for "please reply", printed on invitations to ask guests to say whether they will come. |
| PS | Postscript | A note added after the end of a letter. From the Latin post scriptum, "written after". |
| NB | Nota Bene | Latin for "note well", used to draw attention to something important. |
| e.g. | exempli gratia | Latin for "for example". |
| i.e. | id est | Latin for "that is". |
| etc. | et cetera | Latin for "and the rest". |
| vs | versus | Latin for "against". |
| AM | ante meridiem | Latin for "before midday": the hours from midnight to noon. |
| PM | post meridiem | Latin for "after midday": the hours from noon to midnight. |
| AD | Anno Domini | Latin for "in the year of the Lord", used for years counted forward from the traditional date of the birth of Christ. |
| RIP | Rest in Peace | Said or written of someone who has died. From the Latin requiescat in pace. |
e.g. and i.e.
Use e.g. when you give one or more examples out of many: "Take citrus fruit, e.g. oranges and lemons." Other citrus fruits exist. Use i.e. when you say the same thing again more exactly: "The exam is in the last week, i.e. from the 24th." Nothing else is meant. A memory aid: e.g. = "example given", i.e. = "in essence". These are aids, not the real words.
etc.
"Etc." means "and the rest". Do not write "and etc.", because the "and" is already inside it. Do not use it after "e.g.", because a list of examples is already incomplete. And avoid it for people; "and others" is politer.
More from Latin
- et al.: et alii, "and others", used after the first author of a book or paper.
- viz.: videlicet, "namely".
- cf.: confer, "compare".
- ibid.: ibidem, "in the same place", used in footnotes.
- c. or ca.: circa, "about", before a date: c. 1500.
- p.a.: per annum, "a year": 8 percent p.a.
- a.m. and p.m.: see our page on AM and PM.
- lb: libra, the Roman pound, which is why a pound in weight is written lb.
- No.: numero, "by number", which is why "number" is shortened with an o.
- Rx: on a prescription, from recipe, "take".
- QED: quod erat demonstrandum, "which was to be shown", written at the end of a proof.
Punctuation
In British and Indian usage, "e.g." and "i.e." are written with full stops and usually without a comma after them. "Etc." takes one full stop; if it ends the sentence, do not add a second. "Vs" is also written "v." in the names of court cases.
In formal writing
These short forms are acceptable in notes, tables and brackets. In the running text of an essay or letter, the English words often read better: "for example", "that is", "and so on".