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This is a list of common abbreviations in the English language A. ab ...
Viz. is shorthand for the Latin adverb videlicet using scribal abbreviation, a system of medieval Latin shorthand. It consists of the first two letters, vi, followed by the last two, et, using U+A76B ꝫ LATIN SMALL LETTER ET. [5]
An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning "short" [1]) is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym) or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing period. For example: etc. is the usual abbreviation for et cetera.
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography , from the Greek stenos (narrow) and graphein (to write).
Such etymologies persist in popular culture but have no factual basis in historical linguistics, and are examples of language-related urban legends. For example, "cop" is commonly cited as being derived, it is presumed, from "constable on patrol", [46] and "posh" from "port outward, starboard home". [47]
Below is a basic list of very common abbreviations. Because publishers adopt different practices regarding how abbreviations are printed, one may find abbreviations with or without periods for each letter. For example, the Code of Federal Regulations may appear abbreviated as "C.F.R." or just as "CFR".
However, with some exceptions (for example, versus or modus operandi), most of the Latin referent words and phrases are perceived as foreign to English. In a few cases, English referents have replaced the original Latin ones (e.g., "rest in peace" for RIP and "postscript" for PS). Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe.
A contraction is a shortened version of the spoken and written forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters and sounds.. In linguistic analysis, contractions should not be confused with crasis, abbreviations and initialisms (including acronyms), with which they share some semantic and phonetic functions, though all three are connoted by the term ...