A brief summary of common Latin phrases and abbreviations used in everyday life and math or physics fields. Some phrases or abbreviations are not concluded, just because I have never seen them before, thus classified as “not frequently used”.
（常用拉丁短语和缩写，主要为日常使用和数学物理领域使用。一些短语没有列出，单纯是因为我没有见过，所以被归为“不常用”.）
| Abbreviation | Latin | Translation | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| et al. | et alii et alia et alibi |
“and others” | Example: These results agree with the ones published by Pelon et al. (2002). “Etc.” should not be used for people. |
| etc. | et cetera | “and the others” | Example: I need to go to the store and buy some pie, milk, cheese, etc. |
| e.g. | exempli gratia | “for example”, “for instance” | |
| i.e. | id est | “that is”, “in other words” | |
| N.B. | nota bene | “note well” | To attract attention. Some people use “Note” for the same purpose. |
| per cent. | per centum | “for each one hundred” | Commonly “percent” in American English. |
| P.S. | post scriptum | “after what has been written” | Used to indicate additions to a text after the signature of a letter. |
| P.P.S. | post post scriptum | Sometimes extended to comical length with P.P.P.S., P.P.P.P.S., and so on. | |
| Q.E.D. | quod erat demonstrandum | “that which was to be demonstrated”. | Cited in many texts at the end of a mathematical proof. |
| Re | in re | “in the matter of”, “concerning” | Functions as an abbreviation of “reply” in e-mails. |
| R.I.P. | requiescat in pace | “may they rest in peace” | |
| vs. or v. | versus | “against” | |
| C.V., cv or CV | curriculum vitae | “course of life” | |
| A.M. | ante meridiem | “before midday” | |
| P.M. | post meridiem | “after midday” | |
| Vice versa | “the position having been reversed” the other way round |
Example: He doesn’t trust her, and vice versa (= she also doesn’t trust him). | |
| Ad hoc | when necessary or needed | Example: The mayor appointed an ad hoc committee to study the project. | |
| in situ | in the original place | ||
| ex situ | out of the original place |
Reference
Author: Mike Lyou
Link: https://blog.mikelyou.com/2020/09/24/latin-abbreviations/
Liscense: This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA International License.
