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Abbreviation Encyclopædia - Britannica PDF
Abbreviation Encyclopædia - Britannica PDF
Edition/Abbreviation
< Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition
ABBREVIATION, a letter or group of letters, taken from a word or words, and employed to represent them for the sake of
brevity. Abbreviations, both of single words and of phrases, having a meaning more or less fixed and recognised, are common in
ancient writings and inscriptions, and very many are in use at the present time. A distinction is to be observed between abbreviations
and the contractions that are frequently to be met with in old manuscripts, and even in early printed books, whereby letters are
dropped out here and there, or particular collocations of letters represented by somewhat arbitrary symbols. The commonest form of
abbreviation is the substitution for a word of its initial letter; but, with a view to prevent ambiguity, one or more of the other letters
are frequently added. Letters are often doubled to indicate a plural or a superlative.
I. CLASSICAL ABBREVIATIONS.—The following list contains a selection from the abbreviations that occur in the writings and
inscriptions of the Romans:—
A.
ARG. Argentum.
B.
BRT. Britannicus.
C.
CN. Cnæus.
D.
D.E.R. De ea re.
DES. Designatus.
E.
F.
G.
GL. Gloria.
I.
K.
K.
Kæso, Caia, Calumnia, Caput, Carus, Castra.
L.
LVD. Ludus.
M.
M'. Manius.
M.S.
Manibus sacrum, Memoriæ sacrum,
Manuscriptum.
N.
O.
P.
P.
Pars, Passus, Pater, Patronus, Pax,
Perpetuus, Pes, Pius, Plebs, Pondo,
Populus, Post, Posuit, Præses, Prætor,
Primus, Pro, Provincia, Publicus, Publius,
Puer.
Q.
R.
R. Recte, Res, Respublica, Retro, Rex, Ripa,
Roma, Romanus, Rufus, Rursus.
R.C. Romana civitas, Romanus civis.
S.
T.
V.
II. MEDIÆVAL ABBREVIATIONS.—Of the different kinds of abbreviations in use in the middle ages, the following are examples:—
V. Venerabilis, Venerandus.
III. ABBREVIATIONS NOW IN USE.—The import of these will often be readily understood from the connection in which they occur.
There is no occasion to explain here the common abbreviations used for Christian names, books of Scripture, months of the year,
points of the compass, grammatical and mathematical terms, or familiar titles, like “Mr,” &c.
The ordinary abbreviations, now or recently in use, may be conveniently classified under the following
headings:—
C. Chairman.
S. or St. Saint.
V.G. Vicar-General.
c. cent. . minim.
mo.
c. (or cub.) ft. &c. cubic foot, &c. month.
yd. yard.
3. MISCELLANEOUS ABBREVIATIONS.
A. Accepted.
Anon. Anonymous.
Cr. Creditor.
Dr. Debtor.
Ex. Example.
fl. Flourished.
Lat. Latitude.
N.D. No date.
Obs. Obsolete.
P.R. Prize-ring.
P.S. Postscript.
Pt. Part.
R. or ℞. (Recipe), Take.
v. (Versus), Against.
v. or vid. (Vide), See.
(See Grævius's Thesaurus Antiquitatum, 1694, sqq.; Nicolai's Tractatus de Siglis Veterum; Mommsen's Corpus Inscriptionum
Latinarum, 1863, sqq.; Natalis de Wailly's Paléographie, Paris, 1838; Alph. Chassant's Paléographie, 1854, and Dictionnaire des
Abréviations, 3d ed., 1866. A manual of the abbreviations in current use is adesideratum.)