Abbreviations

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Guidelines

• Abbreviate social titles and titles of rank, both before and after a person's name. (Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer)
• Abbreviate academic degrees. (Kyle Kipfer, M.F.A.)
• Abbreviate time. (A.M., a.m., AM, am, P.M., p.m., PM, pm)
• Abbreviate some historical periods (330 B.C. or BC)
• Abbreviate words associated with addresses or location. (I live on New Hampshire Ave.)
• Abbreviate states. (CT)
• Abbreviate some Latin expressions (e.g., et al.)
• Abbreviate measurements. (in., ft., qt., km, mm)
• Abbreviate titles of some organizations and things. These are not followed by a period. (CIA, CNN, FBI, MSNBC, TV, UN) Use acronyms to abbreviate some organizations. (NASA, NATO)

Abbreviations Found in Etymologies

abbrev, abbr.:  abbreviation, abbreviated
abl:  ablative
acc:  accusative
act:  active
A.D.:  anno Domini
adj:  adjective
adv:  adverb
Aeron:  Aeronautica
AF:  Anglo-French
Afr:  Afrika, Africa, African
Afrik:  Afrikaans
Agric:  Agriculture
Alb:  Albanian, Albania
alt:  alternative
alter:  alteration
Am, Amer:  America, American
AmFr, AmerF:  American French
AmInd, AmerInd:  American Indian
AmSp, AmerSp:  American Spanish
AN:   Anglo-Norman
angl:  anglicized
Anat:  Anatomy
Anglo-Fr:  Anglo-French
Anglo-Ind:  Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Ir:  Anglo-Irish
Anglo-L:  Anglo-Latin
Anglo-Norm:  Anglo-Norman
Ant:  antonym(s)
Anthrop:  Anthropology
aor:  aorist
Ar:  Arabic
Arab:  Arabian, Arabic
Aram:  Aramaic
Archaeol:  Archaeology
Archit:  Architecture
Argen:  Argentine
Arith:  Arithmetic
Arm:  Armenian
art:  article (grammar)
AS:  Anglo-Saxon
assoc:  associated, association
Assyr:  Assyrian
Astrol, astrol:  Astrology, astrology
Astron, astron:  Astronomy, astronomy
attrib:  attributive, attributively
aug:  augmentative
Austral, Aus:  Australia, Australian
aux:  auxillary (verb)
AV:  Authorized Version
Av:  Avestan
b:  born
B.C.:  before Christ; British Columbia
Bab:  Babylonian
back-form:  back-formation
bacteriol:  bacteriology
Belg:  Belgian, Belgium
Beng:  Bengali
Biochem, biochem:  Biochemistry, biochemistry
Biol, biol:  Biology, biology
Bot, bot:  Botany, botany
Braz:  Brazilian
BrazPort:  Brazilian Portuguese
Bret:  Breton
Brit:  Britain, British
Bulg:  Bulgarian, Bulgaria
c:  century
ca, c:  circa
Canad, Can:  Canadian, Canada
CanF:  Canadian French
Cant:  Cantonese
cap:  capital city
Caribb:  Caribbean
Catal:  Catalan
caus:  causative
Cdn:  Canadian
CdnFr:  Canadian French
Celt:  Celtic
cent, cents:  century, centuries
cf:  compare
cgs:  centimeter-gram-second
Ch:  Church
Chem, chem:  Chemistry, chemistry
Chin:  Chinese
Chron:  Chronicles
cinematog:  cinematography
Class:  Classical
C of E:  Church of England
Col:  Columbia; Colossians
Colloq:  Colloquial
comb:  combination, combining
comb form:  combining form
comp:  compound
compar:  comparative (grammar)
Comput:  Computer Science
Confed:  Confederate
conj:  conjunction
contr:  contraction (grammar)
Copt:  Coptic
Cor:  Corinthians
Corn:  Cornish
Croat:  Croatian
crystallog:  crystallography
d:  died
D, Du:  Dutch
Dan:  Danish; Daniel
dat:  dative
Den:  Denmark
deriv:  derivative
derog:  derogatory
Deut:  Deuteronomy
Dial, dial:  dialect, dialectal
dim, dimin:  diminutive
Dom Rep:  Dominican Republic
Dor:  Doric
Du:  Dutch
dupl:  duplicated, duplication
E:  east, eastern; English
EC:  east central; European Community
Eccl:  Ecclesiastes
Eccles:  Ecclesiastical
Ecol, ecol:  Ecology, ecology
Econ:  Economics
econ:  economy
Educ:  Education
EE:  Early English
EFris:  East Frisian
e g:  for example
EGmc:  East Germanic
Egypt:  Egyptian
Elec, elec:  Electricity, electricity
Eng:  England, English
entomol:  entomology
equiv:  equivalent
Esk:  Eskimo
esp:  especially
est:  estimated
etc:  and/or the like
Eth:  Ethiopic
Etr:  Etruscan
etym:  etymology
EU:  European Union
euphem:  euphemistic
Ex:  example; Exodus
exc:  except
Ezek:  Ezekiel
F:  French; Fahrenheit
fem:  feminine
fig:  figurative, figuratively
Fin:  Finland
Finn:  Finnish
Flem, Fl:  Flemish
fl:  flourished; lived (of people)
fol:  following entry
Fr:  France, French
fr:  from
Frank:  Frankish
freq:  frequentative
Fris:  Frisian
fut:  future
G:  German
g:  gram(s)
Gael:  Gaelic
Gal:  Galatians
gal:  gallon(s)
Gaul:  Gaulish
gemmol:  gemmology
Gen:  Genesis
gen:  genitive
Geog, geog:  Geography, geography
Geol, geol:  Geology, geology
Geom, geom:  Geometry, geometry
Ger:  German, Germany
ger:  gerund, gerundive
GeV:  giga-electronvolt(s)
Gk, Gr:  Greek
Gmc:  Germanic
Goth:  Gothic
gov, gov gen:  governor, governor general
Gr:  classical Greek
Gram:  Grammar
Gr Brit:  Great Britain
Gr(Ec):  Ecclesiastical Greek
Gym:  Gymnastics
Hab:  Habakkuk
Hag:  Haggai
Haw:  Hawaiian
Heb:  Hebrews, Hebrew, classical Hebrew (language)
Heb-Aram:  Hebrew-Aramaic
Hind:  Hindustani
Hitt:  Hittite
Hon:  Honduras
Hort:  Horticulture
hortic:  horticulture
Hos:  Hosea
Hung:  Hungarian
Hung:  Hungarian, Hungary
I:  Indian
Icel, Ice:  Icelandic
IE:  Indo-European
i e:  that is
image tech:  image technology
imit:  imitative
imper:  imperative
imperf:  imperfect
incl:  including
Ind:  India, Indian; Indic (in etyms)
indic:  indicative
inf:  infinitive
infl:  influenced, influence
intens:  intensive
interj:  interjection
intr, intrans:  intransitive
Ion:  Ionic
Ir:  Irish
Iran:  Iranian
Ire:  Ireland
IrGael:  Irish Gaelic
irreg:  irregular
Isa:  Isaiah
ISV:  International Scientific Vocabulary
It, Ital:  Italian, Italy
ital:  italic
Jav:  Javanese
Jer:  Jeremiah
Josh:  Joshua
Jp, Jpn:  Japanese, Japan
Judg:  Judges
KJV:  King James Version
kPa:  kilopascal(s)
L:  Latin, classical Latin
LaF:  Louisiana French
Lam:  Lamentations
Lat:  Latin
L(Ec):  Ecclesiastical Latin
Lev:  Leviticus
LG:  Low German
LGk, LGr:  Late Greek
LGr(Ec):  Ecclesiastical Late Greek
LHeb:  Late Hebrew
Linguis:  Linguistics
lit:  literally
Lith:  Lithuanian, Lithuania
LL:  Late Latin
LME:  Late Middle English
LowG:  Low German
LWS:  Late West Saxon
LXX:  Septuagint
Macc:  Maccabees
Mal:  Malachi
masc:  masculine
Math, math:  Mathematics, mathematics
Matt:  Matthew
MBret:  Middle Breton
MD, MDu:  Middle Dutch
ME:  Middle English
Mech, mech:  Mechanics, mechanics
Med, med:  Medicine, medicine
Medit:  Mediterranean
melt pt:  melting point
met:  metropolitan
Meteorol, meteorol:  Meteorology, meteorology
MeV:  mega-electronvolt(s)
Mex:  Mexican; Mexico
MexSp:  Mexican Spanish
MF, MFr:  Middle French
MFlem, MFl:  Middle Flemish
MGk:  Middle Greek
MGr:  Medieval Greek
MHeb:  Medieval Hebrew
MHG:  Middle High German
mi:  mile(s)
Mic:  Micah
Mil:  Military
MIr:  Middle Irish
mistransl:  mistranslation
ML:  Medieval Latin
ML(Ec):  Ecclesiastical Medieval Latin
MLG:  Middle Low German
MLowG:  Middle Low German
ModE:   Modern English
ModGr:  Modern Greek
ModHeb:  Modern Hebrew
modif:  modification
ModL:  Modern Latin
Mongol:  Mongolian
MPer:  Middle Persian
MScot:  Middle Scottish
Myth:  Mythology
mythol:  mythology
MW:  Middle Welsh
N:  northern, North
n:  noun
NAmer:  North American
NAmFr:  North American French
Naut, naut:  nautical usage
NC:  north central
NE, N Eng:  New England
Neh:  Nehemiah
Neth:  Netherlands
Netherl:  Netherlandic
NewEng:  New England
NewZeal:  New Zealand
n fem:  feminine noun
NGk:  New Greek
NGmc:  North Germanic
NHeb:  New Hebrew
NL:  New Latin
n masc:  masculine noun
nneut:  noun neuter
nom:  nominative
Norm:  Norman
NormFr:  Norman French
Norw:  Norwegian, Norway
n pl:  plural noun
n sing:  singular noun
N T:  New Testament
NW:  northwestern
NZ:  New Zealand
OAr:  Old Arabic
Ob:  Obadiah
obj:  object, objective
Obs, obs:  obsolete
OCatal:  Old Catalan
occas:  occasionally
OCelt:  Old Celtic
ODan:  Old Danish
ODu:  Old Dutch
OE:  Old English
OF, OFr:  Old French
OFris:  Old Frisian
OGael:   Old Gaelic
OHG:  Old High German
OIce:  Old Islandic
OInd:  Old Indic
OIr:  Old Irish
OIt:  Old Italian
OL:  Old Latin
OLowFranc:  Old Low Franconian
OLowG:  Old Low German
ON:  Old Norse
ONF:  Old North French
Ont:  Ontario
OPer, OPers:  Old Persian
OPg:  Old Portuguese
ophthalmol:  ophthalmology
OProv:  Old Provencal
OPruss, OPrus:  Old Prussian
orig:  original, originally
ornithol:  ornithology
ORuss:  Old Russian
OS:  Old Saxon
OScan:  Old Scandinavian
Osco-Umb:  Osco-Umbrian
OSlav:  Old Slavic, Old Church Slavonic
OSp:  Old Spanish
OSw:  Old Swedish
O T:  Old Testament
OW, OWelsh:  Old Welsh
PaG, PaGer:  Pennsylvania German
palaeog:  palaeography
palaeontol:  palaeontology
part:  participle, participial
pass:  passive voice
pathol:  pathology
Pek:  Pekingese
Per, Pers:  Persian
perf:  perfect tense
perh:  perhaps
pers:  person; personal (grammar)
Pet:  Peter (Bible)
Pg:  Portuguese
PGmc:  Proto-Germanic
pharmacol:  pharmacology
Phil:  Philippines, Philippians
Philem:  Philemon
Philos, philos:  Philosophy, philosophy
PhilSp:  Philippine Spanish
Phoen:  Phoenician
Phonet:  Phonetics
Photog, photog:  Photography, photography
phr:  phrase
Phys Ed:  Physical Education
Physiol, physiol:  Physiology, physiology
PidE:  Pidgin English
PIE:  Proto-Indo-European
pl:  plural
Poet:  Poetic
Pol:  Polish, Poland
Port:  Portuguese, Portugal
poss:  Possessive
pp:  past participle
PR:  Puerto Rico
prec:  preceding tense
prep:  preposition
Pres:  President
pres part:  present participle
pret:  preterit
prin pts:  principal parts
priv:  privative
prob:  probably
pron:  pronoun
pronun:  pronunciation
Prov:  Provencal
Prov:  Proverbs
prp:  present participle
Pruss, Prus:  Prussian
Ps:  Psalms
pseud:  pseudonym
psychoanal:  psychoanalysis
Psychol, psychol:  Psychology, psychology
pt:  past tense
R C Ch:  Roman Catholic Church
redupl:  reduplicated, reduplication
ref:  reference, refer
refl:  reflexive
relig:  religion
Rev:  Revelation
Rom:  Roman; Romanian, Romania
R S F S R:  Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic
RSV:  Revised Standard Version
Rum:  Rumanian
Russ:  Russian
S:  southern, South
Sam:  Samuel (Bible)
S Afr:  South Africa, South African
S Amer:  South America, South American
SAmSp:  South American Spanish
Sans:  Sanskrit
SC:  south central
Sc:  Scotch, Scots
Scot:  Scottish
Scand, Scan:  Scandinavian
ScGael:  Scottish Gaelic
Scot, Sc:  Scotland, Scottish
Scrip:  Scripture
SE:  southeastern
Sem:  Seminary, Semitic
Serb:  Serbian
Shak:  Shakespeare
sing:  singular
SinoJpn:  Sino-Japanese
Skt:  Sanskrit
Slav:  Slavic
So Afr:  South Africa, South African
sociol:  sociology
S of Sol:  Song of Solomon
Sp, Span:  Spanish
sp:  spelling, spelled
specif:  specifically
S S R:  Soviet Socialist Republic
subj:  subject, subjective
subjune:  subjunctive
superl:  superlative
SW:  southwestern
Sw, Swed:  Swedish
Switz:  Switzerland
SYN:  synonymy
Syr:  Syriac
Tag:  Tagalog
TalmudHeb:  Talmudic Hebrew
Tasm:  Tasmania
technol:  technology
telecomm:  telecommunications
teleg:  telegraphy
theat:  theatre
Theol:  Theology
Thess:  Thessalonians
Tim:  Timothy (Bible)
Tit:  Titus (Bible)
Toch:  Tocharian
tr, trans:  transitive
trans, transl:  translated, translation
trig:  trigonometry
Turk:  Turkish
UK:  United Kingdom
Ukrain:  Ukrainian
ult:  ultimately
UN:  United Nations
uncert:  uncertain
US:  United States, America, American
USA:  United States of America
USSR:  Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
usu:  usually
v, vb:  verb
var:  variant; variety
v aux, verb aux:  auxiliary verb
Ven:  Venezuela
verb intrans:  intransitive verb
verb trans:  transitive verb
vet:  veterinary
Vet Med:  Veterinary Medicine
vi:  intransitive verb
VL:  Vulgar Latin
voc:  vocative
vt:  transitive verb
Vulg:  Vulgate
W:  Welsh; west, western, West
WAfr:  West African
WC:  west central
WFris:  West Frisian
WGmc:  West Germanic
WInd:  West Indian
WS:  West Saxon
Yidd:  Yiddish
Zech:  Zechariah
Zeph:  Zephaniah
Zool, zool:  Zoology, zoology

Other Common Abbreviations

A & M:  Agricultural and Mechanical
ab:  about
abbr:  abbreviation
abl:  ablative
absol:  absolute, absolutely
Acad:  Academy
acc:  accusative
act:  active
adj:  adjective
adv:  adverb
AFB:  Air Force Base
Agric:  Agriculture
alt:  altitude
anat:  anatomy
anc:  ancient, anciently
ant:  antonym
anthropol, anthrop:  anthropologist, anthropology
aor:  aorist
apos:  apostrophe
approx:  approximate, approximately
arch:  archaic
archaeol:  archaeologist
archit:  architecture
art:  article
Assoc:  Association
astron, astr:  astronomer, astronomy
atty:  attorney
aug:  augmentative
av:  average
b:  born
bacteriol:  bacteriologist
bef:  before
bet:  between
bib:  biblical
bibliog:  bibliography
biochem:  biochemist
biol:  biologist
bot:  botany
bro:  brother
C:  centigrade; College
cap:  capital, capitalized
caus:  causative
cen:  center, central
cent:  century
Ch:  Church
chem:  chemistry, chemical
Chron:  Chronicles
class:  classical
co(s):  county (counties)
coll:  college
collect:  collective, collectively
colloq:  colloquial, colloquially
comb:  combining, combination
Comm:  Community
compar:  comparative
conj:  conjugation; conjunction
constr:  construction
contr:  contraction
cook:  cookery
Cor:  Corinthians
criminol:  criminologist
cu:  cubic
d:  died
dat:  dative
dau:  daughter
def:  definite
dept:  department
derog:  derogatory
Deut:  Deuteronomy
dial:  dialect
dim:  diminutive
disc:  discovered
dist:  district
div:  division
dram:  dramatist
DV:  Douay Version
dyn:  dynamics
e:  eastern
e:  estimate
e.g.:  exempli gratia (for example)
eccl:  ecclesiastical
econ:  economist
Ed:  Education
elec:  electrical
emp:  emperor
equiv:  equivalent
esp:  especially
est:  estimated, estimate
estab:  established
et al.:  et alii (and others)
etc:  et cetera (and so forth)
ethnol:  ethnologist
exc:  except
excl:  excludes, excluding, exclusive
exclam:  exclamation
f:  founded
Fahr:  Fahrenheit
fam:  family
fed:  federation
fem, f:  feminine
ff:  following
fig:  figurative, figuratively
fl:  flourished
form:  former, formerly
fr:  from
freq:  frequentative
ft:  feet, foot
fut:  future
gen:  general; genitive
geog:  geography
geol:  geology
geom:  geometry
gov:  governor
govt:  government
gram:  grammar
her:  heraldry
hist:  historian, history
hort:  horticulture
I:  island
i.e.:  id est (that is)
imper:  imperative
in:  inch
incho:  inchoative
incl:  included, includes, including
incorp:  incorporated
indef:  indefinite
indep:  independent
indic:  indicative
infin:  infinitive
inst:  institute, institution
instr:  instrumental
intens:  intensive
interj:  interjection
interrog:  interrogative
irreg:  irregular
ital:  italic
joc:  jocular, jocularly
lat:  latitude
lit:  literally; literary
liturg:  liturgical, liturgy
long:  longitude
m:  meters; mile; masculine
manuf:  manufacturer
masc:  masculine
math:  mathematician
max:  maximum
Mech:  Mechanical
mech:  mechanics
Med:  Medical
med:  medicine
met:  metropolitan
meteor:  meteorology
mfr:  manufacture
mi:  miles
mil:  military
min:  minister
mod:  modern
modif:  modification
MS:  manuscript(s)
mt:  mount, mountain
munic:  municipal
mus:  music
myth:  mythology
n pl:  noun plural
N:  north, northern
n:  northern; noun
naut:  nautical
neut, n:  neuter
nom:  nominative
nonstand:  nonstandard
nov:  novelist
nr:  near
NT:  New Testament
obs:  obsolete
occas:  occasionally, occasional
off:  official
opp:  opposite
org:  organized
ornith:  ornithology
OT:  Old Testament
p:  page
part, partic:  participle
pass:  passive
path:  pathology
perf:  perfect
perh:  perhaps
pers:  person
philos:  philosopher
photog:  photography
phys:  physics, physical
physiol:  physiologist
pl:  plural
poet:  poetical
polit:  political, politician
pop:  population
pp:  past participle; pages
prec:  preceding
predic:  predictive, predicatively
prep:  preposition
pres:  present; president
prob:  probably
pron:  pronoun; pronunciation, pronounced
pronunc:  pronunciation
propr:  proprietary
prp:  present participle
pseud:  pseudonym
psychol, psych:  psychologist
pub:  published
qqv, qv:  quod vide (which see)
R.C. or RC:  Roman Catholic
redupl:  reduplication
refl:  reflexive
rel:  relative
relig:  religion
resp:  respectively
rev:  revolution
rhet:  rhetoric, rhetorical
riv:  river
RSV:  Revised Standard Version
S:  south, southern
Sch:  School
sci:  science
secy:  secretary
sig:  signature
sing:  singular
sociol:  sociologist
specif, spec:  specifically
spp:  species
St:  Saint
Ste:  Sainte
subj:  subjunctive
substand:  substandard
superl:  superlative
syn:  synonym, synonymy
Tech:  Technology
techn:  technical
theat:  theatre
theol:  theologian, theology
Theol:  Theological
treas:  treasury
U:  University
univ:  university
usu:  usually, usual
v, vb:  verb
var:  variant
vi:  verb intransitive
voc:  vocative
vt:  verb transitive
zool:  zoologist