Latin Abbreviations and their English meanings

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 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. 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 their uses in the
modern English language.

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]

C
c., ca. (circa).................. about, around
cf. (confer)..................... compare
c.v. (curriculum vitae).......... curriculum vitae
Latin Abbreviations and their English meanings

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
Latin Abbreviations and their English meanings

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.]
Latin Abbreviations and their English meanings

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