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I am looking for an abbreviation for the word "current" to match the similar abbreviation "prev" for "previous" (it is being used specifically in the context of a sequence of items: previous --> current --> next). I'm considering "cur" and "curr", but the former brings to my mind the slur and the latter, as far as I can tell, isn't in widespread usage. I'm also aware of "cnt" occasionally being used, but it doesn't really match the style of abbreviation in "prev", and it can be ambiguous as to whether it abbreviates "current" or "count". Am I just being paranoid about "cur"?

2 Answers 2

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cur.

Just add a period to hint that it is an abbreviation.

See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cur:

  1. currency.
  2. current.
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  • It's being used in a context where a period isn't appropriate (specifically, as a parameter name for a template on a MediaWiki wiki). Nov 15, 2013 at 5:17
  • @Dinoguy1000 in such contexts such awkward abbreviations are sometimes unavoidable. "Manual" gets abbreviated to "man", is it sexist? "Cumulative" gets abbreviated to "cum", is it sexual? Either don't worry about it, or don't abbreviate. Nov 15, 2013 at 5:31
  • So I'm just being overly paranoid. Fair enough. =) Nov 15, 2013 at 6:00
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When coding, I've typically used curr to match the length of the names of the next and prev variables that are usually also involved, e.g.

void *next = NULL;
void *prev = NULL;
void *curr = NULL;
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  • That was one thing I liked about "curr" before, actually. Every time I look at this, it seems, I flip-flop between the two. =/ Jun 3, 2014 at 10:43

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