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Abbreviations and Signs / A Primer of Information about Abbreviations and Signs, with Classified Lists of Those in Most Common Use cover

Abbreviations and Signs / A Primer of Information about Abbreviations and Signs, with Classified Lists of Those in Most Common Use

Chapter 8: SIGNS
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About This Book

The primer begins with a historical overview of abbreviation practices from manuscript to print, then sets out clear, practical rules for modern usage across contexts where space, clarity, and convention matter. Sections cover dates, times, numerals, geographical and personal-name shortenings, titles, book sizes, measures, monetary, mathematical, medical, astronomical and ecclesiastical signs, proofreader's marks, and commercial and miscellaneous abbreviations. Classified lists and examples accompany guidance on when to spell words in full or use condensed forms, with recommendations for office style, tables, footnotes, and further reading plus review questions for practice.

folio, quarto, octavo.

Beyond that they are usually abbreviated by using the Arabic numeral and mo, but without a period;

12 mo, 16 mo, etc.

IX. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Abbreviate the common designations of weights and measures in the metric system, as well as other symbols of measurement in common use when following a numeral;

1 m., 5 dm., 4 cm., 2 mm., c.m. (cubic meter), c.d., min. (minute), sec. (second), lb. (pound), oz. (ounce), yd., ft., in., A. (Anglestrom units), H.P. (Horse power), C. (Centigrade [Thermometer]).

X. FOOTNOTES.

Authorities cited in footnotes should be specified in the following order:

1. The best known name of the author. Give initials only when necessary to distinguish between several authors of the same name. Set in roman lower-case unless otherwise ordered.

2. The name of the book in roman lower-case. If there is a Bibliography, or list of authorities attached to the book the names of all works referred to should there appear in full, but should be abbreviated in the notes. Otherwise, the name is sometimes written in full the first time it is referred to in a footnote and afterward abbreviated. If the book has but few references to authorities the names may be given in full in the footnotes especially when the reference is to the book as a whole and not to a particular paragraph. In such a case as this last the name is often printed in italics.

Always abbreviate uniformly in the same book.

3. The number of the volume in roman numerals of capital letters. No period.

4. The numbers of the pages in Arabic figures. If there are several editions varying in subject matter and paging the edition used should be specified. If the edition has been specified in the Bibliography this information should not be repeated in the footnotes. In books like the Bible, Shakespeare, Blackstone, or Milton, which have been printed in innumerable editions book, chapter and verse; act, scene and line; section and paragraph, or canto, stanza, and line must be specified.

Number of paragraph only No. 68
Stanza only st. 18
Page only P. 213
Line only l. 384
Paragraph only ¶ 34
Section only § 5
Chapter only
Canto only
xiv
Book only iii
Book and chapter
Part and chapter
Book and line
Act and scene
iii 2
Act, scene, and line iv. 3. 45
Chapter and verse
Number and page
Volume and page
II 34
Volume and chapter IV. iv.
Part, book, and chapter
Part, canto, and stanza
II. iv. 12
Chapter, section, paragraph vii. § 3, ¶ 4
Volume, part, section, paragraph
Book, chapter, section, paragraph
I. i. § 2, ¶ 6

In abbreviated references to the Bible or to the plays of Shakespeare use Arabic figures prefixed to the name to indicate part of succession of the book, play, or letter.

2 Kings II: 5

3 John 11

1 Henry VI, iii. 2. 14

The following excellently chosen illustrations of good methods in handling numerous footnotes in learned works are taken from De Vinne's "Correct Composition."

From English Past and Present, by R. C. Trench

1 Guest, Hist. of English Rhythms, vol. I. p. 280.

2 Hooker, Eccles. Pol. i. 3, 5.

3 Craik, On the English of Shakespeare, 2nd edit. p. 97.

4 Marsh, Manual of the English Language, Engl. edit. p. 278.

From Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Murray's edition of 1881 (8 vols. 8 vo)

1 Orosius, I. ii. c. 19, p. 143.

2 Heineccius, Antiquitat. Juris Roman, tom. i, p. 96.

3 Jornandes, de Reb. Get. c. 30, p. 654 [p. 87, ed. Lugd. B. 1597].

4 Ausonius (de Claris Urbibus. p. 257-262 [No. 14]).

5 A. Thierry, Lettres sur l'Histoire de France, p. 90.

6 Procopius, de Bell. Vanda., I. i. c. 7, p. 194 [tom. I. p. 341, ed. Bonn].

From Hume's History of England, Cadell's edition of 1841 (6 vols. 8 vo)

1 Herbert, p. 431, 432. 4 Burnet, p. 322.
2 Collier, vol. ii. p. 176.          5 34 and 35 Hen. VIII. c. i.
3 Stowe, p. 575. 6 Mémoires du Bellay, lib. x.

The comma is often omitted after the period in footnotes. The abbreviation ch, p, and pp, may be made in notes, but not in text matter.

In lower-case text do not use &c, use etc.

By-laws are often printed with side-headings Art. 1, Sec. 2, etc. It is better to print the words, article and section in full in the paragraph where they first appear and to omit the word in subsequent paragraphs, using the proper figure only.

Figures used in illustrations to facilitate their understanding and explained in small text below the illustration or in the text matter itself do not have No. before them either in the illustration or in the explanation.

Figures and letters used as references to footnotes do not take a period.

Where two or more pages are specified in the text set them thus: Pages 24, 25, 57 not pp. 24-5, 57 nor 25-57. When the reference is to several pages continually set pages 24 to 32.

When a period of time is expressed by the dates of two or more consecutive years, set thus: 1846-7, 1861-5, when there is a lapse of a year or more, set thus: 1866-7-1869-70. Do not abbreviate into '66-'7-'69-'70.



LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

The following lists of abbreviations will be found useful.

Scriptural Abbreviations

Old Testament (O.T.)
Gen. Esth. Joel
Exod. Job Amos
Lev. Ps. (Pss.) Obad.
Num. Prov. Jonah
Deut. Eccles. Mic.
Josh. Song of Sol. Nah.
Judg. (or Cant.) Hab.
Ruth Isa. Zeph.
I and II Sam. Jer. Hag.
I and II Kings Lam. Zech.
I and II Chron.     Ezek. Mal.
Ezra Dan.
Neh. Hos.
New Testament (N.T.)
Matt. Gal. Philem.
Mark Eph. Heb.
Luke Phil. Jas.
John Col. I and II Pet.
Acts I and II Thess.     I, II and III John
Rom. I and II Tim. Jude
I and II Cor. Titus Rev.
Apocrypha
I and II Esd. Eccles. Bel and Dragon
Tob. Bar. Pr. of Man
Jud. Song of Three I, II, III and IV
Rest of Esther Children Macc.
Wisd. of Sol. Sus.

Commercial Abbreviations

A1 Highest class or grade
Acct. Account
Advt., Ad.     Advertisement
Agt. Agent
Amt. Amount
Anon. Anonymous
Ans. Answer
Art. Article
Av., Ave. Avenue
Bal. Balance
Bd. Bound
Bdl. Bundle
Bds. Boards
Bldg. Building
B.O. Buyer's Option
Bro(s). Brother; Brothers
Chap. Chapter
C.I.F. Cost, insurance, freight
Co. Company
C.O.D. Cash on delivery
Cr. Creditor
Dept. Department
Do. Ditto, the same
Dr. Debtor
E.E. Errors excepted
E.O.D. Every other day
E. & O.E. Errors and omissions excepted
Etc. (Et cætera) and so forth
Ex., Exch. Exchange
Exp. Express
Fgt. Freight
F.O.B. Free on Board
H. Hour
H.P. Half pay, horse power
Incor. Incorporated
Ins. Insurance
K.D. Knock down (of furniture, etc.)
L.P. Large Paper
Memo. Memorandum
Mfg. Manufacturing
Mfr. Manufacturer
Min. Minute
No. (numero) number
O.K. All right
Payt. Payment
Pd. Paid
Per an. (Per annum) by the year
Per cent (Per centum) by the hundred
Pkg. Package
Pl. Plate, plates
Pref. Preface
Rd. Road
Rem. Remarks
Rep. Reports
R.R. Railroad
Ry. Railway
Ser. Series
Sq. Square
S.S. Steamship, steamer
T.F. Till forbidden

Miscellaneous Abbreviations

A.C. (Ante Christum) before Christ
A.D. (Anno Domini) in the year of our Lord
Ad lib. (Ad libitum) at pleasure
Adj. Adjective
Adv. Adverb
Æt (Ætatis) of age, aged
A.H. (Anno Hegiræ) in the year of the Hegira
Alt. Altitude
A.M. (Anno Mundi) in the year of the world
An. (Anno) in the year
An. A. C. (Anno ante Christum) in the year before Christ
Anat. Anatomy
Anc. Ancient
Ang.-Sax. Anglo-Saxon
Anom. Anomalous
Anon. Anonymous
Ap. Apostle
Apo. Apogee
Apoc. Apocalypse, Apocrypha
A.R. (Anno regni) in the year of the reign
Arch. Architecture
A.R.R. (Anno regni regis) in the year of the reign of the king
Arr. Arrival
Art. Article
Assoc., Assn. Association
Astrol. Astrology
Astron. Astronomy
A.U.C. (Anno urbis Conditæ) in the year of the building of the city of Rome
Auth. Ver.
or A.V.
Authorized Version of the Bible
Av. Average
Ave. Avenue
B. (Basso) Bass; bay; born
B.C. Before Christ
Boul. Boulevard
B.V. (Bene Vale) Farewell
C. Cape
Cæt. par. (Cæteris paribus) other things being equal
Cap. (caput) Chapter
C. or Cent. Centigrade
Cf. (conferre) compare
Ch. Child or children
C.H. Court House
Chap. Chapter
Circ. Circle(s)
Cit. Citizen
Col. Column
Coll. College
Comp. Companion, comparative
Cong. Congress
C.Q.D. Marconi Distress signal
D.B. Domesday Book
D.C. (Da Capo) From the beginning; again
Dec. Declination
Deg. Degree(s)
Del. (Delineavit) he drew it
Dem. Democrat
D.G. (Dei gratia) by the grace of God; (Deo gratias) thanks to God
D.V. (Deo volente) God willing
E. East, Eagle(s)
Ea. Each
E.B. English Bible (common)
Ed. Editor, Edition
E.E. Errors excepted
E.G. (Exempli gratia) by way of example
Elec. Electricity
E.N.E. East-northeast
Ent. Entomology
E.S.E. East-southeast
Etal. (Et alibi) and elsewhere; (et alii) and others
Etc. (Et cætera) and so forth
Et seq. (Et sequentia) the following
Ex. Example
Exc. Exception
F., Fahr. Fahrenheit (thermometer)
Fec. (Fecit) he made it
Fem. or f. Feminine
Fig(s). Figure(s)
Finn. Finnish
Fol. or f., ff. Folio(s)
For. Foreign
Ft. Fort
Gent. Gentleman
Ger. German
Goth. Gothic
Gr. Greek
H. Husband
Hdkf. Handkerchief
H.e. (Hoc est) that is, or, this is
Hist. History, Historical
H.J.S. (Hic jacet sepultus) here lies buried
H.M.P. (Hoc monumentum posuit) erected this monument
H.R.I.P. (Hic requiescit in pace) here lies in peace
H.S. (Hic situs) here lies
Ibid. Ib. (Ibidem) in the same place
Id. (Idem) the same
I.e. (Id est) that is
I.H.S. First letters of ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, Greek for Jesus, or Iesus hominum salvator, Jesus the Savior of Mankind
Illus. Illustrated
Imp. Imperative (mood)
Incog. (Incognito) Unknown
Indef. Indefinite
Indic. Indicative (mood)
Infin. Infinitive (mood)
In lim. (In limine) at the outset
In loc. (In loco) in the place
Inst. (instante) the current month
Int. Interest
Interj. Interjection
In trans. (In transit) On the passage
Ion. Ionic
Ir. Irish
Irreg. Irregular
Isl. Island
Ital. Italic
Itin. Itinerary
J.H.S. See I.H.S.
Jour. Journal
Lat. Latin, latitude
L.c. (Loco citato) in the place cited
L.l. (Loco laudato) in the place quoted
Long. or long. Longitude
L.S. (Locus sigilli) place of the seal
LXX The Septuagint
M. (Meridies) noon
M. Married
Mem. Memorandum, Memoranda
Mgr. Manager
Misc. Miscellaneous
Mo(s). Month, months
M.S. (Memoriæ sacrum) sacred to the memory
MS. (Manuscriptum) manuscript
MSS. Manuscripts
Mt. Mount, Mont
Myth. Mythology
N. Noun, note(s)
Nat. National
Naut. Nautical
N.B. (Nota Bene) note well
Nem. con or
nem. diss.
(Nemine contradicente or nemine dissentiente) none opposing
N.L. (Non liquet) It does not appear
N. lat. North latitude
N.N.E. North-northeast
N.N.W. North-northwest
Nom. Nominative
Nol. Pros. (Nol prosequi) indicates in law that a complaint will not be prosecuted
N.S. New Style (After 1752)
N.T. New Testament
N.u. Name(s) unknown
N.V.M. Nativity of the Virgin Mary
N.W. Northwest
Ob. (Obiit) he or she died
Obj. Objective (case)
Obs. Obsolete
O.F. Odd Fellow(s)
O.H.M.S. On His Majesty's Service
Olym. Olympiad
Op. Opposite
O.S. Old Style (before 1752)
O.T. Old Testament
P. or pp. Page or pages
Par. Paragraph
Par. pas. Parallel passage(s)
Parl. Parliament
Part. Participle
Partic. Particle
Pass. Passive (voice)
Pen. Peninsula
Pent. Pentecost
Perf. Perfect (tense)
Pers. Person
Pers. pron. Personal pronoun
Persp. Perspective
Phil. Philosophy
Pinx. (Pinxit) he painted it
Pl. Plate(s)
Plff. Plaintiff
Plup. Pluperfect
Plur. Plural
P.M. (Post Meridiem) afternoon to midnight
P.O. Post-office
Pop. Population
Posit. Positive
P.p. Past participle
P.P.C. (Pour prendre congé) to take leave
P. pr. Participle present
P.R. (Populus Romanus) the Roman people
Pref. Preface
Pret. Preterite tense
Pron. Pronoun
Pro tem. (Pro tempore) for the time being
Pr. p. Present participle
P.S. Privy Seal
P.T.O. Please turn over
Pt. Point
Pub. Publisher
Pub. Doc. Public Documents
Q. Question
Q.B. Queen's Bench
Q.C. Queen's College, Queen's Council
Q.d. (Quasi dicat) as if he should say; (Quasi dictum) as if said; (Quasi dixisset) as if he had said
Q.E. (Quod est) which is
Q.E.D. (Quod erat demonstrandum) which was to be proved
Q.E.F. (Quod erat faciendum) which was to be done
Q.l. (Quantum libet) as much as you please
Q. Mess. Queen's Messenger
Qm. (Quomodo) by what means, how
Q.p. or q. pl. (Quantum placet) as much as you please
Qr. Quarter
Q.S. (Quantum sufficit) a sufficient quantity
Q.v. (Quantum vis) as much as you will
Q.v. (Quod vide) which see
Qy. Query
R., Reaum. Reaumur (thermometer)
R.A. Royal Academy; Royal Academician; Royal Artillery
R.E. Royal Engineers
Recd. Received
Rect. Rector
Ref. Reformation, reformed
Ref. Ch. Reformed Church
Ref. Reference
Regr. Registrar
Regt. Regiment
Rel. pron. Relative pronoun
Rep. Representative
Repub. Republican
R.M. Royal Marines
R.N. Royal Navy
Ro. (Recto) Right-hand page
Rom. Cath. Roman Catholic
R.P. (Res Publica) Republic
Ru. Runic
S. Solo (In Italian Music); South
S. SS. Section(s), Saint(s)
S.a. (Secundum artem) According to Art
Sax. Saxon
S.C. (Senatus Consultum) A decree of the Senate
S.C. (In Law) same case
Sch. Schooner(s)
Schol. (Scholium) a note
Sci. Science
Sculp. (Sculpsit) he engraved
S.E. Southeast
Sen. Senate, Senator
Seq. or sq. (Sequente) and in what follows
Seqq. or sqq. (Sequentibus) and in the following (places)
Ser. Series
Shak. Shakespeare
Sing. Singular (number)
S.J.C. Supreme Judicial Court
S. lat. South latitude
S.O.S. Marconi Distress Signal
S.P. (Sine prole) without issue
Sp. gr. Specific gravity
S.P.Q.R. (Senatus Populusque Romanus) the Senate and the Roman people
S.R.I. (Sacrum Romanum Imperium) The Holy Roman Empire
S.R.S. (Societatis Regiæ Socius) Fellow of the Royal Society
S.S. Sunday School
S.S.E. South-southeast
S.S.W. South-southwest
St. Saint, Street
Stat. Statute(s)
Ster. Sterling
Subj. Subjunctive
Subst. Substantive
Su.-Goth. Suio-Gothic
Super. Superfine
Superl. Superlative
S.W. Southwest
T. Tenor (in music); (Tutti) the whole orchestra after a solo
Ter. Territory
Term. Termination
Theor. Theorem
Tr. Translator, transpose
Um. Unmarried
Univ. University
U.S.A. United States Army
U.S.M. United States Mail
U.S.N. United States Navy
U.S.S. United States Ship
U.s. (Ut supra) as above
Vat. Vatican
V.a. Verb active
V. aux. Verb auxiliary
V. def. Verb defective
V. dep. Verb deponent
Ven. Venerable
V.g. (Verbi gratia) for example
V. imp. Verb impersonal
V. in. Verb intransitive
V. irr. Verb irregular
V.n. Verb neuter
Vo. (verso) left-hand page
Voc. Vocative
Vol. Volume
V.r. Verb reflexive
V. tr. Verb transitive
V. Vulgate (Version)
W. West, wife
W. lon. West longitude
W.N.W. West-northwest
W.S.W. West-southwest
Xmas Christmas
Zool. Zoology



SIGNS

In addition to the abbreviations, strictly so called, there are many signs used in various kinds of composition. The most common are included in the following lists.

Monetary Signs

Dollar or dollars
cts. Cents
Gn. Guinea
£ (English) Pound or pounds
/ or s Shilling or shillings
d. (Denarius) penny or pence
fr. Franc or francs
c. (French) Centime or centimes
m. (German) Mark or marks
Pf. (German) Pfennig or pfennigs
cr. (Austrian) Crown or crowns
hr. (Austrian) Heller or hellers
rub. (Russian) Ruble or rubles
kop. (Russian)     Kopec or kopecs
kr. (Danish) Crown or crowns
öro, öre Oro or öre
£ (Italian) Lira or lire
c. (Italian) Centesimo or centesimi

Mathematical Signs

+ Plus
- Minus
± Plus or minus
Minus or plus
× Multiplied by
÷ Divided by
= Equal to
Not equal to
Identical with
Congruent to
> Greater than
< Less than
The difference between
Is equivalent to
: and ::     Proportion
Varies as
Approaches as a limit
Infinity
Therefore
Because
. . . Continuation
The radical sign
Perpendicular to
Parallel
Arc of circle
Degree of circle
Minute of circle
Second of circle
Angle
Right angle
Square
Rectangle
Triangle

Medical Signs

ãã (ava) of each Drachm
(Recipe) take Scruple
, i     Ounce, one ounce O     (Octarius) Pint
ss Half an ounce Fluid ounce
iss One ounce and a half           Fluid Drachm
ij Two ounces m Minim or drop

Astronomical Signs

Planets

    Sun     Earth     Saturn
Mercury           Mars Uranus
Venus Jupiter           Neptune

Phases

    New moon              first quarter               full moon
last quarter

Zodiacal

    Aries, the ram     Libra, the scales
Taurus, the bull Scorpio, scorpion
Gemini, the twins Sagittarius, archer
Cancer, the crab           Capricornus, goat
Leo, the lion Aquarius, waterman
Virgo, the virgin Pisces, the fishes

Aspects and Nodes

    Conjunction     opposition
Quadrature or     quintile
Ascending node sextile
Descending node           trine

Ecclesiastical Signs

    The Maltese cross is used before their signatures by certain dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also used in the service-books of that church to notify the reader when to make the sign of the cross. The ordinary reference mark [dagger] (the dagger) should not be used as a substitute.
 
Response in service-books. The apothecaries' sign is not an entirely acceptable substitute.
 
Versicle in service-books.
 
indicates the words intoned by the celebrant.

Proofreader's Signs

No ¶ No new paragraph.
Run in Let there be no break in the reading.
Make a new paragraph.
Correct uneven spacing of words.
Strike out the marked type, word, or sentence.
Reverse this type.
# More space where caret is marked,
Contract the spacing.
Take out all spacing.
[ Move this to the left.
] Move this to the right.
Raise this line or letter.
Depress this line or letter.
|| Make parallel at the side with other lines.
Indent line an em.
Push down a space that blackens the proof.
x Change this bruised type.
w.f. Change this faulty type of wrong font.
tr. Transpose words or letters underlined.
l.c. Put in lower-case, or small letters.
s.c. Put in small capitals.
caps. Put in capitals.
Insert apostrophe. Superior characters are put over an inverted caret, as, etc.;
for inferior characters the caret is put in its usual position, as in .
rom. Change from italic to roman.
ital. Change from roman to italic.
Insert period.
, / Insert comma.
; / Insert semicolon.
: / Insert colon.
=/ Insert hyphen.
One-em dash.
Two-em dash.
Take out cancelled character and close up.
Qu. or? Is this right? See to it.
Insert letter or word marked in margin.
|||| Hair-space letters as marked.
Stet Restore crossed-out word or letter.
. . . . Dots put below the crossed word mean:
Cancel the correction first made, and let the types stand as they were.
Over two or three letters. Change for the diphthong or for a logotype, as æ, ffi.
Straighten lines.
///// Diagonal lines crossing the text indicate that the composition is out of square.
Out, see Copy     Here is an omission; see copy.

Corrections or textual improvements suggested to the author should be accompanied by the interrogation-point and be enclosed in parentheses or "ringed."

Corrections should always be made in the margin, and never in the text: faults in the types or text to be indicated only by light pen marks.