ABBREVIATIONS1

(including those for the most frequently cited authorities)

A or Am American (U.S.A.)
abbr abbreviation of; abbreviated (to)
abl ablative
acc accusative (or objective) case
A.D. Anno Domini, in the year of (our) Lord
adj adjective, adjectival
adv adverb, adverbial
AE American English
Aer Aeronautics, aeronautical
AF Anglo-French
Afr Afrikaans
AIr Anglo-Irish
Akk Akkadian
AL Anglo-Latin (=Medieval Latin as used in Britain)
Alb Albanian
Alg Algonquin
Am American
Amerind American Indian
AmF American French
An Anatomy, anatomical
anl analogous, analogously, analogy
app apparently
approx approximately
Ar Arabic
Aram Aramaic
1 Except for A.D. and B.C., and for e.g., f.a.e., i.e., 0.0.0., q.v. and s.f., the very modern practice of
using as few points (periods, full stops) as possible has been followed. In philology, OHG, MLG,
ONF, etc.—not O.H.G., etc.—have long been usual; I have merely extended the practice to, e.g., n
for noun.
Arch Architecture, architectural
Arm Armenian
AS Anglo-Saxon
ASp American Spanish
Ass Assyrian
Astr Astronomy, astronomical
aug augmentative
Aus Australia, Australian
Av Avestic (or Zend)
B British
Bab Babylonian, Babylonish
Bact Bacteriology, bacteriological
Baker Sidney J.Baker, The Australian Language, 1945
B&W O.Bloch and W.von Wartburg, Dictionnaire étymologique
de lad langue française, 2nd ed., 1950
B.C. Before Christ
BE British English
b/f back-formation (from)
Bio Biology, biological
Boisacq Emile Boisacq, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue
grecque, 4th ed., 1950
Bot Botany, botanical
Br Breton
Bu Bantu
Buck Carl Darling Buck, A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in
the Principal European Languages, 1949
Byz Gr Byzantine Greek
C Celtic
c circa, about (in dates)
C16, 17 16th (etc.) Century; CC16–17, 16th– 17th Centuries
CA Central America(n)
Can Canadian
Cat Catalan
caus causative
cf confer, compare!
c/f combining-form; pl: c/ff
c/f e compound-forming element
Ch Chinese
Chem Chemistry, chemical
Clark John W.Clark (private communication)
Class Classical (Greek, Latin)
coll colloquial, -ism, -ly
comb combination, combiner
comp comparative
cond conditional (mood)
conj conjunction, conjunctive
conjug conjugation
conn connotation
cons consonant, consonantal
contr contracted, contraction
Cor Cornish
corresp corresponding
cpd compound
Craigie Sir William Craigie, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish
Tongue, 1931–
Cz Czechoslovak
D Dutch
Da Danish

DAE A Dictionary of American English, edited by W.A.Craigie

and J.R. Hulbert, 1936–44
DAF R.Grandsaignes d’Hauterive, Dictionnaire d’ancien
français, 1947
dat dative
Dauzat Albert Dauzat, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue
française, edition of 1947
dial dialect, -al, -ally
Dict (this) dictionary; dict (pl dictt), any dictionary
dim diminutive
E English
E&M A.Ernout and A.Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique de la
langue latine, 3rd ed., 1951
Eccl Ecclesiastics, ecclesiastic(al)
ED Early Modern Dutch
EDD Joseph Wright, The English Dialect Dictionary, 1896–
1905
EE Early Modern English (1500–1700)