ABBREVIATIONS - List of Latin Abbreviations

Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe. From the 18th century authors started using their mother tongue to write books, papers or proceedings. Even when Latin fell out of use, many Latin abbreviations continued to be used due to their precise simplicity and Latin's status as a learned language.

All abbreviations are given with full stops, although these are omitted or included as a personal preference in most situations.


Less common abbreviations and usages

Words and abbreviations that have been in general use, but are currently used less often:

A.B. (Artium Baccalaureus), "Bachelor of Arts" (B.A., BA or A.B.), is an undergraduate bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both.

in litt. (in litteris): Latin for "in a letter [or other documented correspondence]"; often followed by a date.

AMDG (Ad maiorem Dei gloriam or ad majorem Dei gloriam): Latin - "For the greater glory of God". It is the motto of the Society of Jesus.

a.U.c. (ab Urbe condita or Anno Urbis conditae): Latin for "from the foundation of the City"[1]: it refers to the founding of Rome, which occurred in 753 BC according to Livy's count. Used as a reference point in ancient Rome for establishing dates, before being supplanted by other systems. Also anno Urbis conditae (a.U.c.) ("in the year that the City [Rome] was founded"). For example, the year 2007 AD is the year 2760 ab Urbe condita (753 + 2007 = 2760); though, rigorously speaking, the year a.U.c. begins on April 21, the birthday of Rome (i.e. the day that Romulus was traditionally believed to have founded the Eternal City).

a.u. (anno urbis): Latin for "The year of the city"[2]

c (cum): "with", usually found in medical shorthand.

D.D. (Divinitatis Doctor), "Teacher of Divinity" [7]

D.Lit. (Doctor Litterarum), "Teacher of Literature" [7]

D.M. (Doctor Medicinae), "Teacher of Medicine" (M.D.) [7]

D.Phil. (Doctor Philosophiæ), "Teacher of Philosophy"

et seq. (et sequens), et seqq or et sequa. (et sequentes, or et sequentia): "and the following" (use et seqq or et sequa. if "the following" is plural).[1] Not unlike the full colon [ : ] which means "the following" i.e. that which follows is a listing of that which precedes the ' : '. (Incorrectly used, "the following:")

dwt. (denarius weight)[1]: "Pennyweight". N.B. this is a mixture of Latin and English abbreviations.

fl. or flor. (floruit) means the period of time during which a person, school, movement or even species was active or flourishing (literally, "he/she/it flourished").[1]

F D or FID DEF (fidei defensor), "defender of the faith." A part of the monarch's title, it is found on all British coins.

inst. (instante mense): "this month" (see also prox. and ult.)

loq. (loquitur), "S/he speaks" [7]

N.N. (nomen nescio): "I do not know the name": used as a placeholder for unknown names in e.g. the Book of Common Prayer.

O.D. (oculus dexter): "the right eye". Used in vision correction prescriptions.

O.S. (oculus sinister): "the left eye". Used in vision correction prescriptions.

prox. (proximo mense): "next month" (see also inst. and ult.).[1]

r. (rexit): 'ruled'. Used for the time period of a monarch or other ruler's reign (e.g.: Mehmet III [r. 1595–1603])

Q.E.C. (quod erat construendum): "which was to be constructed" (after constructing something, normally to show its existence)

Q.E.F. (quod erat faciendum): "which was to be done"[1]

s (sine): "without", usually found in medical shorthand.

sc. (scilicet) means literally "one may know".[1][3] Sometimes abbreviated scil. It is equivalent to the English phrase "to wit" and has virtually the same meaning as "videlicet" (literally, "one may see"), which is usually abbreviated as "viz." These expressions are not to be confused with "i.e." (id est), equivalent to "that is". Their meanings are similar, but there is a distinction which should be observed: "sc." and "viz." introduce a clarification; "i.e." introduces an equivalence.

sec. (secundum) literally "second", "after" or "following",[9] used in several related senses such as "in the sense of" or "in accordance with". For example in taxonomy "...sec. Smith..." typically would mean something like: "...in accordance with the ideas of Smith in this matter..."

sphalm. (sphalma typographicum) a misprint.

S.T.T.L. (sit tibi terra levis) means "May the earth rest lightly on you" and was used in similar manner to R.I.P.

s.v. (sub verbo): "Under the word or heading", as in a dictionary

S.V.B.E.E.V. (si vales bene est ego valeo): "if you are well, it is good. I am well."

Th.D. (Theologiae Doctor): "Teacher of Theology"

ult. (ultimo mense): "last month" (see also inst. and prox.)[1]

V.C. (vi coactus): "constrained by force". Used when forced to sign ("or else ...")

v.i. (vide infra) means "see below".

v.s. (vide supra) means "see above".