Abbreviations should be illegal

 

• D.V.: Deo volente, “God willing”. Used to express the hope that everything will go well. Example: “We will meet again next week, D.V.”
• e.g.: exempli gratia, “for example”. Used to introduce an example or list of examples. Example: “I like to eat fruits, e.g., apples, bananas, and oranges.”
• et al.: et alii, “and others”. Used to indicate that there are other people in addition to those mentioned. Example: “The paper was written by Smith et al.”
• etc.: et cetera, “and so forth”. Used to indicate that there are other things in addition to those mentioned. Example: “I need to buy some groceries, such as bread, milk, eggs, etc.”
• i.e.: id est, “that is”. Used to clarify or rephrase a statement. Example: “I like to eat fruits, i.e., I enjoy eating apples, bananas, and oranges.”
• N.B.: nota bene, “note well”. Used to draw attention to something important. Example: “N.B.: The deadline for submitting the application is tomorrow.”
• A.D.: anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord”. Used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The A.D. or the Christian calendar era is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth, with A.D. counting years after the start of this epoch, and B.C. counting years before the start of the epoch. Example: “The United States Civil War began in A.D. 1861.”
• A.I.: ad interim, “temporarily”. Used in business organizational charts.
• a.m.: ante meridiem, “before midday”. Used on the twelve-hour clock to indicate times during the morning. Example: “We will meet the mayor at 10:00 a.m.” (10:00 in 24-hour clock)
• ca./c.: circa, “around”, “about”, “approximately”. Used with dates to indicate “approximately”. Example: “The antique clock is from ca. 1900.”
• Cap.: capitulus, “chapter”. Used before a chapter number of laws of the United Kingdom and its former colonies. Example: “Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Cap. 553).”
• cf.: confer, “bring together” and hence “compare”. Confer is an imperative form of the Latin verb conferre. Used interchangeably with “cp.” in citations indicating the reader should compare a statement with that from the cited source. It is also widely used as an abbreviation for “see”, although some styles recommend against such use. Example: “These results were similar to those obtained using different techniques (cf. Wilson, 1999 and Ansmann, 1992).”
• C.P.: ceteris paribus, “other things being equal”. Commonly used in economics, ceteris paribus allows for supply and demand models to reflect specific variables. If one assumes that the only thing changing is, say, the price of wheat, then demand and supply will both be affected appropriately. While this is simplification of actual dynamic market models, it makes learning economic theory easier.
• C.V.: curriculum vitae, “course of life”. A document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education.
• P.S.: postscriptum, “written after”. Used to indicate that additional information has been added at the end of a letter or email. Example: “P.S.: I forgot to mention that I will be out of town next week.”