Latin terms and abbreviations

Some useful Latin terms & their abbreviations and usage

Common Latin terms

Carpe diem

• "seize the day"

Festina lente

• means "make hast slowly"
• used as advice to do something with urgency but care

Lorem ipsum

• "lorem" is not a word
• the term was made up by printers as "filler" or "place holder" text
  • i.e., nonsense words used to occupy formatted space
• see:
  • https://www.straightdope.com/21343427/what-does-the-filler-text-lorem-ipsum-mean

Qui bono

• = "who benefits?"
  • i.e., what is a possible motive?
• when analyzing an event or situation, an investigator will want to ask "qui bono" as to why something occurred
  • knowing who benefits will frequently yield both motive and cause

Sic transit

• means "thus passes the glory of the world"
• used to express a moment of fleeting glory

Status quo

• means "existing state of affairs"
• "status quo" is a non-count noun, so it does not change with plurality

Common Latin abbreviations

c.

• circa
• = "approximately" or "around" (as in about the same)
  • ex. "The island was populated c. 1500 bc."
  • or "The system processed circa 10,000 data points"

Cf.

• confer / conferatur
  • meaning "compare"
• used to "signal" to the reader that the source is supportive of the author's text
  • as opposed to a direct citation or source
• see Citation

e.g.

• exempli grati
• = "for the sake of an example" or "for example"
  • ex. "Junk food, e.g., candy or ice cream, is yummie but bad for you"
  • e.g. is usually set aside by parentheses
  • ex. "Junk food (e.g., candy or ice cream) is yummie but bad for you"

etc.

• et cetera
• = "and others" or "and the rest"
  • ex. "At the grocery store, I bought junk food like donuts, cookies, ice cream, etc."

i.e.

• id est
• = "that is" or "thereby"
  • ex. "Junk food is yummie but bad for you; i.e, I shouldn't eat it."
• usage rules:
  • i.e. is lowercase, even at the beginning of a sentence
  • i.e. is followed by a comma (i.e., ...)
  • i.e. is not a coordinating conjunction (i.e., it does not combine independent clauses; i.e., use a semicolon like this)
  • i.e. is often set aside by parentheses (i.e., like this)

sic

• sci
  • ("sic" is not an abbreviation)
• = "thus" or "so"
  • used to indicate that a quotation or word usage or spelling that is uncommon or non-standard is from the original text or speaker
  • generally used in brackets, viz, [sic]
  • ex. "The man with a heavy French accent said, "May I rent w rhume?"[sic]

viz

• videlicet
• = Latin for "it is permitted to see"
• = "namely" or "specifically" (as in a clarification)
• used to add details, examples or a list
  • ex. "Politicians are corrupt, viz. my representative, your representative and all of our representatives."
• viz is generally followed by a list specifying or detailing the prior statement

vs. or v.

• versus
• = "against" or "opposed to, or "as opposed to"
  • used for comparison or contrast
  • ex. "My idea v. yours."

Less common Latin abbreviations

N.B.

• nota bene
• = "note well" or "pay attention"
• used to emphasize a main point
  • ex. "N.B.: "the abbreviation for "nota bene" is the only Latin abbreviation in this list that should be capitalized"

sc

• contraction scilicet
• = "it is permitted to know", "it is certain", "you may be sure"
• = similar to "viz", but used to clarify as opposed to adding details or examples
  • ex. "
• sc is also shown as "ss"
  • usually for legal documents
  • see https://abclegaldocs.com/blog-Colorado-Notary/scilicet-ss-meaning-notary-certificate/

Latin abbreviations used for citations, legal documents and bibliographic or textual references

et al.

• et alii"
• = "and others"
  • ex. "The book written by Jones, et al. was most interesting"

ex ante

• ex = from
• ante = before
  • used to show that an analysis of a future event or prediction is based upon prior evidence

ex post

• ex = from
• post = after
  • used to analyze past probabilities based on actual events

idib. & id.

• ibidem= "in the same place" or "same as above"
• "id" = "the same person"
• used in bibliographies
  • ex.

1. Jones, et al. p. 238
2. Ibid, 249

• note: "loc. cit." and "op.cit." are less commonly used for "ibid" and "id."

inf. & sup.

• "infra" = "below"
• "supra" = "above"
• used to refer to information previously or subsequently
  • as in "see below" or "see above"

passim

• passim (not abbreviated)
• = "here and there" or "throughout"
  • used to indicate that information or a reference will be used frequently

q.v.

• quod vide
• = "which see" or "for more on this topic"
  • tells the reader that additional information is found elsewhere or later in the text

s.n.

• sine anno
  • = "without a date", for unknown publication date

s.l.

• sine loco
• = "without a place", as in origin unknown
• usually used to reference an unknown place of publication

s.n.

• sine nomine
  • = "without a name", for the publisher is unknown

s.v.

• sub verbo
  • = "under the word"
• used to cite a dictionary or encyclopia entry
  • archaic and not commonly used any more

Sources

• https//writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/latin-terms-and-abbreviations/
• https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/abbreviationsS_Z.aspx