Latin Abbreviations and Latin Expressions

Eg/Ie/Ergo/Et Al/Etc.

There are some people, especially those in the legal and insurance professions (as well as writers), who love to use Latin abbreviations or Latin expressions. There’s nothing wrong with that, but, far too often, I have seen them used improperly.

The problem with using Latin expressions is if you’re going to use them—many people won’t know right from wrong, but of those who do—you’ll look like an ass if you use them in the wrong way.

So, for those of you who would like to use the terms, here is the proper way.

Latin expressions with Latin sayings

E.G.,

e.g. Is a Latin abbreviation for exempli gratia, and it means, “for example.” It is not necessary to place it in italics, but you should write it with periods and lower case letters, and it is standard to be followed by a comma.

e.g., means “for example” and should be used for that, not for clarifying what you mean to say. Leave that job to i.e. Remember that e.g., and example both start with the letter e.

Sample sentence

Working dogs, e.g., Great Danes, English mastiffs, and boxers, typically like to be active.

Use e.g. when you want to give a few examples but not a complete list. As you can tell from the sample sentence, this is nowhere near a complete list. I could have added Bernese mountain dogs, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, and many more.

i.e.,

i.e., is a Latin abbreviation for “id est” and means “that is” or “in other words.” It is used to clarify the meaning of something. It is written similarly to e.g., and is followed by a comma as well. It should precede a clarification, not an example. It should also be preceded by a comma.

Use i.e. when you want to provide further explanation for something.

Sample sentence

The fish expert recommended I only add aggressive fresh-water fish to the tank, i.e., African or South American cichlids.

What follows i.e. should be equal to what comes before, meaning you should be able to replace one with the other without changing the meaning of the sentence. Try it out with the sentence above.

The fish expert recommended I only add African or South American cichlids to the tank, i.e., aggressive fresh-water fish.

Sometimes the situation would allow you to use e.g. or i.e., however, the meaning of the sentence may be affected. Let’s take a look at the above sentence.

I said ‘the fish expert recommended I only add aggressive fresh-water fish to the tank.’ I then used i.e. to indicate that South American and African cichlids were what he was referring to. If there were many choices, though, I could have use e.g. instead and still listed South American and African cichlids as examples. The difference is by using i.e., I’m indicating that they are the only ones to use, and by using e.g., I’m indicating they are but a few examples, that there are others that would work.

🐗 eg is used to provide an example and i.e. to explain an example.

;ergo

ergo is a Latin abbreviation for therefore and as such, is frequently preceded by a semicolon. It can also be separated by a comma or an em dash, depending upon usage.I see no need to use ergo but if you do use it, use it properly.

This is from a blog I wrote, where I jokingly used ergo.

Perhaps they think that by capitalizing words, those words, or the functions they represent, become more important; ergo, the person becomes more important. (Did I just use the word ergo? I did, didn’t I?) Smack me if I ever do that again.

etc.,

This is an abbreviation for et cetera, which means, “and so forth.”

It should never be used in the same sentence as including or includes, and it should be preceded by a comma and followed by a comma when it appears in the middle of a sentence. If it comes at the end of a sentence, the period (which is part of etc.) suffices as the final punctuation.

I’ve also seen people use “and etc.,” which is also wrong. etc. means “and so forth,” so the extraneous and is unnecessary.

Some people might think that the use of ergo, et al, i.e., and e.g., are pretentious, but the terms are perfectly fine, and they are common practice, especially in the legal and insurance professions. One other thing, etc., is used only for things. Use et al when referring to people. (Et al means “and others,” so it is appropriate.)

etc., is used at the end of a list to indicate there are more elements to the list that are being left out so that the list doesn’t become too long.

Sample sentence

All of the objects in our solar system (planets, comets, etc.) orbit the sun.

When you use etc, be sure that all the items that follow it are similar. For example, you wouldn’t say,

‘My passions are reading, writing, taking care of animals, etc.’

If you did that, no one would know what the etc., stands for as you have listed items of different kinds.

🐗 etc. should always be used with items of the same kind, and you should never say “and etc.”

Sic

I know you’ve seen this (usually in newspapers) where an article will cite a quote that was made by someone in error, then they’ll follow it with the word [sic] usually in italics and brackets.

Sic is a Latin term, and means “thus.” It means “this is exactly what the original quote or writing said,” and it is used to let people know that an error was made, and the error was kept as it was by the writer.

Often it’s a date, as in America was discovered by Columbus in 1592 [sic]. The sic is needed as the date should have been 1492, but the writer wanted you (the reader) to know that the person who originally wrote the article, or said the quote, did so erroneously.

🐗 Sic is always enclosed in brackets (one of the few times brackets are used) and is almost always italicized.

So, why use sic at all? Because a lot of statements, especially written ones, need to be copied word for word. It’s not used to make the other person look bad.

Versus

Versus may be one of the most used of the Latin words/phrases, and yet, most people don’t know its origins. Versus means “against” or “as opposed to”, and may be seen written as vs. or simply v.

You’ve probably seen in the newspapers something similar to “Samuels v. the Stat of Texas”, or, (and I know you’ve seen something like this) “Patriots vs. Giants.” In each of those instances, you could have substituted versus for the v or vs without changing the meaning.

🐗 Versus is used primarily when pitting one against the other, as in “Patriots versus Giants” or “Samuels versus the State of Texas.” In each case it signifies a fight or a contest.

🐗 It can also be use as a comparison, as in “pounds versus kilograms” when comparing the weight differences. Or “yards versus meters” or “ounces versus liters.”

The pictures below show one-quart bottles compared with 750 milliliter bottles.

one-quart bottles  

  750 milliliter bottles of wine

Circa

This is another one of those Latin words I feel sure that you’ve at least seen. It is often used in newspaper or magazine articles when the exact date of something is unknown such as the construction or completion of an ancient project.

An example might be to say, “the completion of the Sphinx was circa 2500 B.C.” Another way to write it would be to say, the Sphinx was built about 4,500 years ago (circa 2500 B.C.). In each case, it means the Sphinx was built (about, around, or approximately) in the year 2500 B.C.

pyramid and sphinx

Et Al.

Et al. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase et alii (male—et aliae–female, and et alia–neutral gender) meaning “and others.” The term references groups of people (not things). Et al. is useful for citations and referring to a group by a few of its members, as in: “The world was protected by mutants: Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine, et al.” Et al. is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, and it always takes a period. Commas are optional but typically used.

Quid Pro Quo

Most people understand what quid pro quo means, but they might not know that the meaning is literal (exact). Quid pro quo means “one thing in return for another.” You often hear it referred to in talk of politics where one politician will do something for someone who has done something for them, although the spread of the word has far outreached politics and has become pervasive in almost all aspects of daily life.

Sample sentences

A person’s rise in politics is often the result of one quid pro quo after another.

Many politicians rely on quid pro quo to get anything done.

Ad Nauseam

Most of you are familiar with the phrase ad nauseam. It means ‘to the point of sickness’ and is used (mostly figuratively) that way.

Sample sentence

We argued the point ad nauseam, and still accomplished nothing.

conference room argument (ad nauseam)

Per Se

Many people use this expression, having picked it up through osmosis, but never really knowing its true meaning. Per se (not per say) means that something is being considered by itself—not with other things lumped into it.

Sample sentence

The ex-alcoholic felt there was nothing wrong with drinking, per se, but that it must be done in moderation.

Vice Versa

Vice versa is another saying that most people know and quite a few use. It means “the other way around,” meaning if the statements were reversed they would still be true. An example might better serve the point.

Sample sentence

During the Civil War, it was safe to say that people from the North did not like people from the South, and vice versa.

By using the term, vice versa, we’re stating that it’s also safe to say that people from the South did not like people from the North.

As we can presume that to be true, it’s safe to say we used “vice versa” correctly.

Alibi

This is a word I never suspected to find on the list, however, it was there. Anyone who has ever watched a police show or read a mystery book is likely familiar with the meaning, but did you know it’s Latin for “elsewhere,” as in “He has an alibi. He was elsewhere when the crime was committed.”

We’ve covered a lot of ground, but we haven’t even scratched the surface. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Latin expressions/words we could have gone into. I’ll bet you didn’t know you knew so much Latin. Anyway, below is a brief list of a few of the more common ones. We’ll cover some more of them in detail at another time.

• caveat emptor—(let the buyer beware). It’s a warning to prospective buyers, letting them know that they may be taken advantage of.
• ipso facto—by the fact itself.
• veni, vidi, vici—I came. I saw. I conquered.
• BC and AD—Before Christ and Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord)
• ad hoc—formed or used for a special purpose.
• ad infinitum—without end or limit.
• addendum—a section or additional material that is added to a document or a book, etc. (plural is addenda)
• affidavit—a sworn statement.
• alma mater—institution where one attended school.
• alter ego—technically it is a different version of yourself.
• alumnus or alumni—single and plural versions of graduates of a particular school or university. As an example, ‘He was a Princeton alumnus’.
• ante bellum—before the war. (especially the American Civil War)
• aurora borealis—Northern Lights
• carpe diem—seize the day. It is a saying often used to urge someone to ‘have fun while they can.’

carpe diem—seize the day  

• Cogito ergo sum—I think, therefore I am.
• e pluribus unum—I know you’ve seen this. It’s on every dollar bill that’s made, written on the ribbon held by the eagle. It means “out of many, one,” and is the motto of the U.S.
• fac simile—means to “make alike” or render a similar copy. As you might guess from the spelling, it is where the word, “facsimile” came from.
• persona non grata—an unacceptable or unwelcome person.

There are plenty more Latin phrases and words, but we’ll save those for another time. Latin phrases are a part of the language and they’re not likely to change anytime soon, so it’s better to learn the ins and outs while you can.

You can see more of how other languages affect ours in this post, or you can check out more of my grammar books at any of the links below.

If you enjoyed this post, please share.  

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes non-fiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar and publishing. See the complete list here   

By the way, if you noticed several of the dog breeds were not capitalized. That’s the way they should be. There are rules governing which parts of the breed names should be capitalized on all breeds. My book on How to Capitalize Anything lists them all.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.”  

photo credit: Monochrome Red #1 via photopin (license)

photo credit: Sphinx via photopin (license)

photo credit: quart bottles via photopin (license)

photo credit: Carpe diem 11/365 via photopin (license)

photo credit: Flickreenos Gather via photopin (license)

Tags: editing, grammar, Latin, writing