GKC431/451/461/491/881 Unit - 3 : Abbreviations, Sobriquets, Superlatives

UNIT - 3. ART & ENTERTAINMENT

1. HISTORY OF ABBREVIATIONS
The word abbreviation refers to short form of a word. Abbreviation has been
used as long as phonetic script existed, in some senses actually being more common
in early literacy, where spelling out a whole word was often avoided, initial letters
commonly being used to represent words in specific application.

An increase in literacy has, historically, sometimes spawned a trend toward

abbreviation. The standardization of English in the 15th through 17th centuries
included such a growth in the use of abbreviation. At first, abbreviations were
sometimes represented with various suspension signs, not only periods. For
example, specific phoneme sets like "er" were dropped from words and replaced
with ɔ, like "mastɔ" instead of "master" or exacɔbate instead of "exacerbate".

The use of abbreviation for the names of "Father of modern etymology" J. R.

R. Tolkien and his friend C. S. Lewis, and other members of Oxford literary group
known as the Inklings, are sometimes cited as symptomatic of this. Likewise, a
century earlier in Boston, a fad of abbreviation started that swept the United States,
with the globally popular term OK generally credited as a remnant of its influence.

After World War II, the British greatly reduced their use of the full stop and
other punctuations after abbreviations in at least semi-formal writing, while the
Americans more readily kept its use until more recently, and still maintain it more
than Britons. The classic example, considered by their American counterparts quite
curious, was the maintenance of the internal comma in a British organization of
secret agents called the "Special Operations, Executive" — "S.O.,E" — which is not
found in histories written after about 1960.

But before that, many Britons were more scrupulous at maintaining the
French form. In French, the period only follows an abbreviation if the last letter in
the abbreviation is not the last letter of its antecedent: "M." is the abbreviation for
"monsieur" while "Mme" is that for "madame". Like many other cross-channel
linguistic acquisitions, many Britons readily took this up and followed this rule
themselves, while the Americans took a simpler rule and applied it rigorously.

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Over the years, however, the lack of convention in some style guides has
made it difficult to determine which two-word abbreviations should be abbreviated
with periods and which should not. The U.S. media tend to abbreviate two-word
abbreviations like United States (U.S.), but not personal computer (PC) or television
(TV). Many British publications have gradually done away with the use of periods in
abbreviations completely.

1.1 SOME IMPORTANT ABBREVIATIONS

A
abbrev. abbreviation (of)
absol. absolute, -ly
Abstr. (in titles) Abstract, -s
Acct. (in titles) Account
A.D. Anno Domini
adj. Adjective
Adv. (in titles) Advance, -d, -s
adv. Adverb
advb. adverbial, -ly
Advt. Advertisement
AF., AFr. Anglo-French
Afr. Africa, -n
Agric. (as label) in Agriculture; (in titles) Agriculture, - al
Amer. American
Amer. Ind. American Indian
Anc. (in titles) Ancient
Anglo-Ind. Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Ir. Anglo-Irish
Anthrop., Anthropol. (as label) in Anthropology; (in titles) Anthropology, -ical
Antiq. (as label) in Antiquities; (in titles) Antiquity
app. apparently
Appl. (in titles) Applied

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Applic. (in titles) Application, -s

Arab. Arabic
Arch. (as label) in Architecture; (in titles) Architecture, -al
assoc. association
Astr. in Astronomy
Astrol. in Astrology
Astron. (in titles) Astronomy, -ical
Astronaut. (in titles) Astronautic, -s
attrib. attributive, -ly
Austral. Australian
Autobiogr. (in titles) Autobiography, -ical
A.V. Authorized Version
B
B.C. Before Christ
B.C. (in titles) British Columbia
bef. before
Bibliogr. (as label) in Bibliography; (in titles) Bibliography, -ical
Biochem. (as label) in Biochemistry; (in titles) Biochemistry, -ical
Biol. (as label) in Biology; (in titles) Biology, - ical
Bk. Book
Brit. (in titles) Britain, British
Bulg. Bulgarian
Bull. (in titles) Bulletin
C
Cal. (in titles) Calendar
Cambr. (in titles) Cambridge
Canad. Canadian
Catal. (in titles) Catalogue
Celt. Celtic
Cent. (in titles) Century, Central
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Cent. Dict. Century Dictionary

Cf., cf. confer, 'compare'
Ch. Church
Chem. (as label) in Chemistry; (in titles) Chemistry, - ical
Chr. (in titles) Christian
Chron. (in titles) Chronicle
Chronol. (in titles) Chronology, -ogical
Cinemat., Cinematogr. in Cinematography
Clin. (in titles) Clinical
cl. L. classical Latin
cogn. w. cognate with
Col. (in titles) Colonel, Colony
Coll. (in titles) Collection
collect. collective, -ly
colloq. colloquial, -ly
comb. combined, -ining
Comb. Combinations
Comm. in Commercial usage
Communic. in Communications
comp. compound, composition
Compan. (in titles) Companion
compar. comparative
compl. complement
Compl. (in titles) Complete
Conc. (in titles) Concise
Conch. in Conchology
concr. concrete, -ly
Conf. (in titles) Conference
Congr. (in titles) Congress
conj. conjunction
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cons. consonant
const. construction, construed with
contr. contrast (with)
Contrib. (in titles) Contribution
Corr. (in titles) Correspondence
corresp. corresponding (to)
Cotgr. R. Cotgrave, Dictionarie of the French and English
tongues
cpd. compound
D
D.A. Dictionary of Americanisms
D.A.E. Dictionary of American English
D.C. District of Columbia
Deb. (in titles) Debate, -s
def. definite, -inition
dem. demonstrative
deriv. derivative, -ation
derog. derogatory
Descr. (in titles) Description, -iptive
Devel. (in titles) Development, -opmental
Diagn. (in titles) Diagnosis, Diagnostic
dial. dialect, -al
Dict. dictionary; spec., the Oxford English Dictionary
dim. diminutive
Dis. (in titles) Disease
Diss. (in titles) Dissertation
D.O.S.T. Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue
Du. Dutch
E
E. East
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Ecol. in Ecology
Econ. (as label) in Economics; (in titles) Economy, -omics
ed. Edition
E.D.D. English Dialect Dictionary
Edin. (in titles) Edinburgh
Educ. (as label) in Education; (in titles) Education, - al
EE. Early English
e.g. exempli gratia, 'for example'
Electr. (as label) in Electricity; (in titles) Electricity, - ical
Electron. (in titles) Electronic, -s
Elem. (in titles) Element, -ary
Embryol. in Embryology
e.midl. east midland (dialect)
Encycl. (in titles) Encyclopaedia, -opaedic
Eng. England, English
Engin. in Engineering
Ent. in Entomology
Entomol. (in titles) Entomology, -ogical
esp. Especially
Ess. (in titles) Esssay, -s
et al. et alii, 'and others'
etc. et cetera
Ethnol. in Ethnology
etym. etymology
euphem. euphemistically
Exam. (in titles) Examination
exc. Except
Exerc. (in titles) Exercise, -s
Exper. (in titles) Experiment, -al
Explor. (in titles) Exploration, -s
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F
f. Feminine
F. French
fem. (rarely f.) Feminine
fig. figurative, -ly
Finn. Finnish
fl. floruit, 'flourished'
Found. (in titles) Foundation, -s
Fr. French
freq. frequent, -ly
Fris. Frisian
Fund. (in titles) Fundamental, -s
G
G. German
Gaz. (in titles) Gazette
gen. Genitive
gen. general, -ly
Geogr. (as label) in Geography; (in titles) Geography, - ical
Geol. (as label) in Geology; (in titles) Geology, - ical
Geom. in Geometry
Geomorphol. in Geomorphology
Ger. German
Gloss. Glossary
Gmc. Germanic
Govt. (in titles) Government
Gr. Greek
Gr. Great
Gram. (as label) in Grammar; (in titles) Grammar, -matical
Gt. Great

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H
hist. Historical
Hort. in Horticulture
Househ. (in titles) Household
Housek. (in titles) Housekeeping
I
Ibid. Ibidem, 'in the same book or passage'
Icel. Icelandic
Ichthyol. in Ichthyology
i.e. id est, 'that is'
IE. Indo-European
Illustr. (in titles) Illustration, -ated
imit. imitative
imp. imperative
impers. impersonal
impf. imperfect
ind. indicative
indef. indefinite
Industr. (in titles) Industry, -ial
inf. infinitive
infl. influenced
Inorg. (in titles) Inorganic
Ins. (in titles) Insurance
Inst. (in titles) Institute, -itution
int. interjection
intr. intransitive
Introd. (in titles) Introduction
Ir. Irish
irreg. irregular, -ly
It. Italian
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J
Jap. Japanese
Jrnl. (in titles) Journal
Jun. (in titles) Junior
K
Knowl. (in titles) Knowledge
L
l. line
L. Latin
lang. language
Lect. (in titles) Lecture, -s
Less. (in titles) Lesson, -s
Let., Lett. letter, letters
LG. Low German
lit. literal, -ly
Lit. Literary
Lith. Lithuanian
M
m. masculine
Mag. (in titles) Magazine
Magn. (in titles) Magnetic, -etism
Man. (in titles) Manual
Manch. (in titles) Manchester
Manuf. in Manufacture, -acturing
Mar. (in titles) Marine
masc. (rarely m.) masculine
Math. (as label) in Mathematics; (in titles) Mathematics, -al
MDu. Middle Dutch
ME. Middle English

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Mech. (as label) in Mechanics; (in titles) Mechanics, - al

Med. (as label) in Medicine; (in titles) Medicine, - ical
med.L. medieval Latin
MHG. Middle High German
Mineral. (in titles) Mineralogy, -ical
MLG. Middle Low German
mod. modern
mod.L. modern Latin
Myst. (in titles) Mystery
Mythol. in Mythology
N
N. North
N.Amer. North America, -n
N.&Q. Notes and Queries
Narr. (in titles) Narrative
Nat. (in titles) Natural
Nat. Hist. in Natural History
Naut. in nautical language
N.E. North East
N.E.D. New English Dictionary, original title of the Oxford
English
neut. (rarely n.) neuter
NF., NFr. Northern French
No. Number
nom. nominative
north. northern dialect
n.q. no quotations
N.T. New Testament
Nucl. Nuclear

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N.W. North West

N.Z. New Zealand
O
obj. object
obl. oblique
Obs., obs. obsolete
Obstetr. (in titles) Obstetric
occas. occasionally
OE. Old English (= Anglo-Saxon)
OF., OFr. Old French
OFris. Old Frisian
OHG. Old High German
OIr. Old Irish
opp. opposed (to), the opposite (of)
Org. (in titles) Organic
orig. origin, -al, -ally
O.T. Old Testament
Outl. (in titles) Outline
Oxf. (in titles) Oxford
P
p. page
pa.t. past tense
Path. (as label) in Pathology; (in titles) Pathology, - ical
Pharm. in Pharmacology
phr. phrase
Phys. physical; (rarely) in Physiology
Physiol. (as label) in Physiology; (in titles) Physiology, -ical
Pict. (in titles) Picture, Pictorial
pl., plur. plural
Pol. Polish
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Pol. (as label) in Politics; (in titles) Politics, -itical

Pol. Econ. in Political Economy
pop. popular, -ly
poss. possessive
Pott. (in titles) Pottery
pple. participle
Pr. Provencal
pr. present
Pract. (in titles) Practice, -ical
prec. preceding (word or article)
pred. predicative
pref. prefix
pref., Pref. preface
prep. preposition
pres. present
Princ. (in titles) Principle, -s
priv. privative
prob. probably
Proc. (in titles) Proceedings
pron. pronoun
pronunc. pronunciation
prop. properly
pr. pple. present participle
Psych. in Psychology
Psychol. (as label) in Psychology; (in titles) Psychology, -ical
Publ. (in titles) Publications
Q
Q. (in titles) Quarterly
quot(s). quotation(s)
q.v. quod vide, 'which see'
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R
R. (in titles) Royal
R.C.Ch. Roman Catholic Church
Rec. (in titles) Record
redupl. reduplicating
Ref. (in titles) Reference
refash. refashioned, -ing
refl. reflexive
Reg. (in titles) Register
reg. regular
rel related to
Rep. (in titles) Report, -s
repr. representative, representing
Res. (in titles) Research
Rev. (in titles) Review
rev. revised
Rom. Roman, -ce, -ic
Russ. Russian
S
S. South
S.Afr. South Africa, -n
sb. substantive
sc. scilicet, 'understand' or 'supply'
Sc., Scot. Scottish
Sch. (in titles) School
Scotl. (in titles) Scotland
Sel. (in titles) Selection, -s
Ser. Series
sing. singular
Sk. (in titles) Sketch
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Skr. Sanskrit
Slav. Slavonic
S.N.D. Scottish National Dictionary
Soc. (in titles) Society
Sp. Spanish
Sp. (in titles) Speech, -es
sp. spelling
spec. specifically
Spec. (in titles) Specimen
St. Saint
Stand. Standard
str. strong
Struct. (in titles) Structure, -al
Stud. (in titles) Studies
subj. subject
subord. cl. subordinate clause
subseq. subsequent, -ly
subst. substantively
suff. suffix
superl. superlative
Suppl. Supplement
Surg. (as label) in Surgery; (in titles) Surgery, Surgical
s.v. sub voce, 'under the word'
Sw. Swedish
s.w. south-western (dialect)
syll. syllable
Syr. Syrian
Syst. (in titles) System, -atic
T
Taxon. (in titles) Taxonomy, -omical
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techn. technical, -ly

Technol. (in titles) Technology, -ogical
Telegr. in Telegraphy
Teleph. in Telephony
(Th.) (quoted from) Thornton's American Glossary
Theol. (as label) in Theology; (in titles) Theology, -ogical
Theoret. (in titles) Theoretical
tr., transl. translated, translation
Trans. (in titles) Transactions
trans. transitive
transf. transferred sense
Trav. (in titles) Travel(s)
Treas. (in titles) Treasury
Treat. (in titles) Treatise
Treatm. (in titles) Treatment
Trig. in Trigonometry
Trop. (in titles) Tropical
Turk. Turkish
Typog., Typogr. in Typography
U
ult. ultimately
Univ. (in titles) University
unkn. unknown
U.S. United States
U.S.S.R. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
usu. usually
V
v., vb. verb
var(r)., vars. variant(s) of
vbl. sb. verbal substantive
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Vet. Sci. in Veterinary Science

viz. videlicet, 'namely'
Voy. (in titles) Voyage, -s
v.str. strong verb
vulg. vulgar
v.w. weak verb
W
wd. word
Webster Webster's (New International) Dictionary
Westm. (in titles) Westminster
WGmc. West Germanic
Y
Yrs. (in titles) Years
Z
Zoogeogr. in Zoogeography
Zool. (as label) in Zoology; (in titles) Zoology, -ogical

2. SOBRIQUETS
The origin of sobriquet belongs to France. A sobriquet is a nickname or a
fancy name, or an assumed name usually a familiar name given by others which is
familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of
explanation. This salient characteristic, that is, of sufficient familiarity, is most easily
noted in cases where the sobriquet becomes more familiar than the original name for
which it was formed as an alternative. For example, Genghis Khan, who is rarely
recognized now by his original name "Temüjin"; and the British Whig party, which
acquired its sobriquet from the British Tory Party as an insult.

Sobriquets are often found in politics. Candidates and political figures are
often branded with sobriquets, either contemporarily or historically. For example,
American President Abraham Lincoln came to be known as Honest Abe. Sobriquets
are not always used to highlight virtuous qualities, either. A banking tycoon and
politician from Knoxville, Tennessee named Jake Butcher was known as "Jake the
Snake" after being indicted and subsequently convicted for bank fraud.

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2.1 PRIMARY NAMES SOBRIQUETS

Aberdeen, Scotland The Granite City

Africa The Dark Continent

Amristsar, India The City of the Golden Temple

Atlantic Ocean The Herring Pond

Australia The Land of the Golden Fleece,

The Land of the Kangaroo

Bangalore, India The Garden City of India

Belgium The Cockpit of Europe

Belgrade, Yugoslavia White City

Bombay, India The Gateway of India

Broadway, New York The Great White Way

Burma (Mayanmar) The Land of the Golden Pagoda

Calcutta, India The City of Palaces

Canada The Land of Lilies, The Land of Maple

Chicago, USA Windy City

Cochin, India The Venice of the East, The Queen of the

Arabian Sea

Finland The Land of Thousand Lakes

River Hwang Ho, China The Sorrow of China

Ireland The Emerald Island

Jaipur The Rose Pink City

Bengal’s Sorrow River Damodar, Bengal, India

Empire City New York, US

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Egypt Gift of the Nile

Palestine Holy Land

Bahrain Island of Pearls

Japan Land of the Rising Sun

Punjab Land of Rivers

Finland Land of Thousand Lakes

Thailand Land of the White Elephant

Switzerland Playground of Europe

Pamirs Roof of the world

Nilgiri Hills Blue Mountains

Margaret Thatcher Iron Lady

Burma Land of Golden Pagoda

Canada Land of Lillies

Norway Land of the Midnight Sun

Bhutan Land of Thunderbolt

Cochin, India Venice of East

Mother Teresa Saint of the Gutters

3. THE SUPERLATIVES
In grammar the superlative of an adjective or adverb is the greatest form of
degree or quality which indicates that something has some feature to a greater
degree than anything it is being compared to in a given context. For example, if
Adam is 45, Bess is 35, and Chris is 25, Adam is the oldest of the three, because his
age transcends those of Bess and Chris in one direction, while Chris is the youngest,
because his age transcends those of Adam and Bess in the other direction. If Dan,
who is 50, and Edna, who is 20, join the group, Dan now becomes the oldest and
Edna the youngest.
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Some prescriptive grammars hold that, when comparing only two entities,
use of the superlative is ungrammatical: if the group were to contain only Adam and
Bess, Adam would be older, while Bess would be younger and it would be
ungrammatical to say that Adam was the oldest. The superlative degree used in
reference to sets of two or fewer are found, however, in writing and speech.

1. First Siameses Twins-Chang and Eng Bunker (Thailand)

2. First Human Heart Transplant-was Perfomed on Louis Washkansky (55) at

the Great Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, S. Africa on De 3, 1967 by a team of 30
led by Prof Christian Neethling Barnard.

3. First Artificial Heart-Dr. Burney B. Clark 61, of Wisconsin, U.S.A. received the
first artificial heart on Dec 1-2, 1982 at the Utah Medical Centre, the Surgeon
was Dr. William C. de Vries.

4. Largest and heaviest Animal-The Blue or Suplhur bottom whale.

5. Fastest moving animal-The Peregrine Falcon (350 km/h)

6. Tallest Tree-The redwood near the Coast of California (112.1m.)

7. Most massive tree canopy-The Great Banyan tree in the Indian Botanical
Garden, Calcutta. (4 acres)

8. Largest Forest-The vast coniferous forests of the Northern USSR.

9. Largest Park-The Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada, has an area
of 17560 sq. miles.

10. Largest Desert-The Sahara in N. Africa. (89 x 105 sq. km.).

11. Longest River-The two longest rivers in the world are Amazon and Nile.

12. First test tube baby-Lousie Brown, Lancashire, England on July 25, 1978.

13. Largest Sea-The South China Sea. (2974600 sq. km.).

14. Largest Gulf-The Gulf of Mexico. (1500000 sq. km.).

15. Largest Bay Area-The Bay of Bengal.

16. Largest Peninsula-Arabia. (3250000 sq. km.)

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17. Highest Waterfall-Salto Angel Falls in Venezuela.

18. Largest Planet-Jupiter.

19. Fastest Planet-Mercury.

20. Earliest Spacecraft-Sputnik (USSR).

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