An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word, or phrase.
39
votes
4answers
21k views
When “etc.” is at the end of a phrase, do you place a period after it?
Example:
It's all about apples, oranges, bananas, etc.
VS.
It's all about apples, oranges, bananas, etc..
15
votes
3answers
2k views
Punctuation around abbreviations
I always stumble when using abbreviations in a sentence, as they inherently contain a period in them. How do I use a comma or a semicolon after an abbreviation? How about a period?
E.g. (This is an ...
10
votes
3answers
9k views
Difference between an acronym and abbreviation?
TLA is an acronym for "Three Letter Acronym". Is it also an abbreviation, since it abbreviates the original phrase?
14
votes
1answer
775 views
Why do some words have “X” as a substitute?
Why do people sometimes substitute x for letters in a word?
Examples:
Xing
Xmas
Xfr
8
votes
2answers
321 views
Is it OK to drop the periods in abbreviations?
When I was in school, strictly every abbreviation had a period after each (capitalized) letter, as in U.S.A. These days, it seems ok just to capitalise, as in USA.
Is this a new rule? It does look ...
2
votes
0answers
172 views
an SQA or a SQA? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?
Although I am clear about the usage of 'an' and 'a' on most cases, but I am not sure how they are applied ...
12
votes
1answer
569 views
How to deal with abbreviations at the end of a question?
In a sentence like
Should we host them on imgur et cetera?
where I want to abbreviate the "et cetera", what is the correct punctuation? Using a period after the "etc." like mid sentence usages ...
16
votes
2answers
15k views
How should I abbreviate “versus”?
There are 4 types of abbreviations I know for "versus":
v
v.
vs
vs.
I generally use the last one in the list, but I want to stick to one and use only that one. Which one is more proper (or more ...
12
votes
7answers
3k views
How do I spell the truncation 'Cas', as in 'Sports Casual/Sports Cas'?
How do I spell the truncation 'Cas', as in 'Sports Casual/Sports Cas'? It may be UK only, and may have been spawned by Alan Partridge. Cash/Cas are not right.
*As in a slang term, "he was acting all ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
What does “shortening” mean? Is it different from “abbreviation”?
What does shortening mean? Is it different from abbreviation? I checked the dictionary, but I don't get the difference clearly.
5
votes
1answer
843 views
Symbol, punctuation, or abbreviation that indicates a “paraphrase”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the proper use of [square brackets] in quotes?
This question is born of practical necessity - one that I encountered while quoting a reference in "another" Stack ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
How to indicate possession when using abbreviation “Dr.”
I often run into a case where I need to say I have a doctor's appointment, but how would I properly punctuate it if I wanted to use the abbreviation Dr. instead of the word doctor? Dr.'s appointment ...
6
votes
2answers
388 views
Is Wayne's World's (NOT) a modern invention?
Older users of this site may recall the 'Bill & Ted' 'Wayne's World' series of movies of the early 1990s. They were mindless but fairly amusing and their eponymous characters spoke in a unique ...
17
votes
5answers
39k views
Should I write “PhD” or “Ph.D.”?
Question pretty self-explanatory. Should the abbreviation of the Latin term philosophiae doctor be written as PhD (no periods) or Ph.D. (with periods)?
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Is “Don't you know? ” the same as “Do not you know?”?
Well, we know don't is the same as do not, right?
Therefore, can I say "Do not you know?", instead of "Don't you know?"?
Well, I know that chances are I can't do that, but technically that should be ...
9
votes
9answers
1k views
When is it acceptable to use Internet abbreviations such as “u” or “r”?
In my business communication over Internet text messengers, for example Google Talk or Skype, I see that many people often use shorten words like u instead of you, r instead of are and the like.
How ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
How would you abbreviate surnames starting with Mc/O/D?
On my sport team, when we communicate we would like to use first name plus initial last name initial, e.g. John S. for John Smith, however I always wonder how I should abbreviate some of the Gaelic / ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Origin of the phrase “for the win”?
Just curious as to where "for the win" (commonly abbreviated FTW) originated?
5
votes
5answers
706 views
Please use other door?
"Please use other door" signs are common. But would you ever say this? Or would you say "please use the other door"?
3
votes
2answers
385 views
Punctuating “etc.” after a series of questions
How should I terminally punctuate etc. when it's used at the end of a series of questions?
How's your brother? Did you get the job? Are you feeling better? Etc.?
Is this right, or do I use a ...
45
votes
5answers
3k views
Where did “cc” and “bcc” come from?
I've just realised that CC is "carbon-copy" and BCC is "blind-carbon-copy". Basically I'm wondering, where did these terms come from?
9
votes
0answers
961 views
What does “OP” stand for? [closed]
I see the abbreviation everywhere at stackoverflow.com to represent the user who asked the question. I'd like to know the complete form of OP.
8
votes
1answer
4k views
Ending a sentence with an abbreviation [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Punctuation around abbreviations
When a sentence ends with an abbreviation, should there be two periods or one?
Welcome to ACME Inc. We are glad to have you on ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
What are the abbreviations most commonly used on the Internet? [closed]
Every so often I see various abbreviations used on forums and blogs and whatnot, such as FYI (For Your Information) and AFAIK (As Far As I Know).
What other common abbreviations are there, and what ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
Punctuation after “P.S.”
Somewhere in the craggy quagmire of my memory, I seem to recall that the nuns of my grade school days taught me that a P.S. (post script) is followed by a colon, i.e. P.S.:
Alas, the periods after ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
Short alternatives of the word Authentication and the word Authorisation
As a programmer I use the word Authentication and the word Authorisation in my code.
I'd like to find nice abbreviations or alternative words for each of them that
are not ambiguous and
has ...
4
votes
4answers
609 views
How do I manage periods for abbreviations with parentheses, right before a period?
"In the case of medical diagnostics, there is a cost associated with each medical procedure that provides additional information (blood test, x-ray, etc.)."
Should that end with "etc.).", "etc)." ...
4
votes
4answers
4k views
How does one correctly use “q.v.”?
Wikitionary mentions offhand that "q.v." is used to reference material, but the definition it gives is far too sparse for my taste. My question is, what does "q.v." stand for and when should one use ...
3
votes
3answers
950 views
Abbreviations for nouns / noun phrases used as non-nouns
In an answer to another question, steven_desu argued that it was “technically incorrect” to use the word “e-mail” or “email” as a verb because it stands for “electronic mail.”
I do not argue whether ...
1
vote
1answer
4k views
“'n'” as an abbreviation for “and” as in “rock 'n' roll”
I wonder if there are other cases where and is abbreviated in writing as in rock 'n' roll.
0
votes
1answer
137 views
AVC or A.V.C or A.V.C [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it OK to drop the periods in abbreviations?
Okay, so in School I was always tought that when we want to abbreviate, we must use a full stop "." inbetween each letter, ...
39
votes
1answer
2k views
What does “c'tee” mean?
I have been seeing the word c'tee frequently. Here are some examples:
Sports minister sets up c’tee to find solution to football crisis
...
18
votes
3answers
5k views
When a sentence starts with “e.g.”, should the e be capitalized?
When a sentence starts with e.g., should the e be capitalized?
Neverminding that it might be better to start with "For example," ... Thinking of SE posts and comments, should the starting e be ...
15
votes
7answers
2k views
Is it correct that “etc.” can not be used together in a sentence with “for example” and “such as”?
I just read an article from a Chinese website for English teaching which mentions that point. For instance, one can't say:
"I can play quite a few musical instruments, for example, the flute, the ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
“Versus” versus “vs.” in writing
In writing, when should one use the abbreviation vs. as opposed to the full versus?
This abbreviation seems to have special status from common usage. What is the origin of that, and in what writing ...
11
votes
5answers
779 views
How do you write an ellipsis following an abbreviation?
Consider the following sentence (off of the top of my head just to illustrate an example):
I hate the N.C.A.A....but I understand that it's a necessary evil.
When following an abbreviation with ...
7
votes
5answers
36k views
What is the correct abbreviation of “continued”? [closed]
Assume that I give my work information in my CV with the date (year) intervals. My last position started this year and is continued at the moment.
Example Co. ABC Manager 2012 - cont.
How ...
6
votes
1answer
312 views
Who inflects “innit”?
I'm quite surprised there doesn't seem to be a question about this yet. Depending on where you hail from, you've probably heard the word innit, an abbreviation of isn't it or ain't it. You may also ...
5
votes
8answers
666 views
Should Philip have P. or Ph. as an initial?
In the context of scientific articles and technical white papers, references to other publications typically include the author’s surname with, depending on the format of the specific publication, ...
4
votes
3answers
624 views
Does the word “units” have a valid abbreviation?
Is there any precedent for abbreviating the word Units, and if more than one, is there any standardized prescription (no pun intended on my example) for which abbreviation to use in which context?
...
4
votes
2answers
4k views
How to spell “the youzhe” as in the abbreviation of “the usual”
The usual is a common reply to what will you order? or what are you up to?. It is often abbreviated, in Canada, to the first syllable of usual, as in the youzhe. How would you spell this abbreviation? ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Are there any general rules or guidelines for creating abbreviations for words?
Are there any general rules or guidelines for how to create abbreviations of a word when there isn't any established abbreviations of it already?
Context: I'm writing an article in which I have to ...
4
votes
3answers
4k views
Meaning of 'cf.' [closed]
it refers to a discrete life form that has properties of mind (i.e. experience and character, cf. sentience)
2
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I start a sentence with “i.e.”?
While writing a rhetorical question I ran into a case where it seemed natural to start a sentence with "I.e":
How do we handle the case when the list is empty? I.e., if the filter matched no ...
1
vote
2answers
132 views
How can you omit repetition of words with prefixes, e.g. “inputs and outputs”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Use of hyphens when writing repeated compound words that has common parts
I am looking for a general way of shortening the repetition of words with prefixes like upwards ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
Is it suitable to use 'etc.' in an academic paper?
I'm writing one of my first academic papers and I'm not sure whether etc. is too informal. Should I use et cetera instead?
1
vote
2answers
274 views
Is it right to call it “SEO” and how do you pronounce it? [closed]
Two questions:
I couldn't find a source to decide whether to assume SEO an acronym or not. How should I pronounce it?
SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization" while it is the process of improving ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
Stock quantity of products — the most proper abbreviation
What is a commonly accepted abbreviation with regard to stock quantity of (countable) products?
As in: "200 units" of sth, just shorter.
I've come across the form "200 pc.", but as it's coming from ...
0
votes
4answers
5k views
Abbreviation for “announcement”?
Is there a common abbreviation for "announcement"?
If there is, what is it?
-1
votes
1answer
251 views
List of truncated words [closed]
I don't know if I'm in the right place, but I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find a list of truncated words (and if possible the complete word). For example, tho ⇒ though.
