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Is it correct to abbreviate etc as &c?
Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?
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I recently asked someone why they had several instances of "&c" in their writing, to which they told me that &c is another abbreviation for et cetera. I have since looked it up and understand now where this comes from, with the "&" being more than just an "and" symbol, that written correctly it is actually based on, and looks like, "et".
Apparently some people have used it this way before, but "some people have done it, especially in the past" makes it neither correct nor accepted in general. One site I came across in my research on this even states that you should not do this.
Finally, ‘etc.’ should not be written with an ampersand instead of the
‘et’ part (&c) except when an older source is being duplicated or
transcribed.
That is from a description of when to use etc. from proof-reading-service.com
Is "&c" a correct way to abbreviate "et cetera" in English? Or was it a temporary slang term, similar to "aint", but which never caught on and is used to be quaint?
abbreviations
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
|
show 2 more comments
I recently asked someone why they had several instances of "&c" in their writing, to which they told me that &c is another abbreviation for et cetera. I have since looked it up and understand now where this comes from, with the "&" being more than just an "and" symbol, that written correctly it is actually based on, and looks like, "et".
Apparently some people have used it this way before, but "some people have done it, especially in the past" makes it neither correct nor accepted in general. One site I came across in my research on this even states that you should not do this.
Finally, ‘etc.’ should not be written with an ampersand instead of the
‘et’ part (&c) except when an older source is being duplicated or
transcribed.
That is from a description of when to use etc. from proof-reading-service.com
Is "&c" a correct way to abbreviate "et cetera" in English? Or was it a temporary slang term, similar to "aint", but which never caught on and is used to be quaint?
abbreviations
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
It is not in current use, but in older writings e.g. 19th century & prior it frequently appears. The modern accepted abbreviation is "etc".
– WS2
3 hours ago
The correct modern abbreviation is "etc." Note that includes the period indicating an abbreviation. The "&c" abbreviation makes little sense. It's "et cetera", not "and cetera", and "&c" mixes the reference languages.
– R Mac
3 hours ago
5
@RMac It is my understanding, from the research I had just done, that "&" refers to the Latin "et" rather than the English "and", that we just happen to say "and" because we are speaking English. Whether that is accurate, I'm not sure, but that is what I read. Supposedly, a properly written historical "&" symbol was supposed to resemble a mixture of "e" and "t" together.
– Aaron
3 hours ago
1
@RMac Whether it "makes little sense or not" - it was certainly in widespread use at one time.
– WS2
3 hours ago
1
@RMac The ampersand is literally a stylistic variant of the letters Et. If anything, it’s using an ampersand to represent the English word and that mixes languages.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
I recently asked someone why they had several instances of "&c" in their writing, to which they told me that &c is another abbreviation for et cetera. I have since looked it up and understand now where this comes from, with the "&" being more than just an "and" symbol, that written correctly it is actually based on, and looks like, "et".
Apparently some people have used it this way before, but "some people have done it, especially in the past" makes it neither correct nor accepted in general. One site I came across in my research on this even states that you should not do this.
Finally, ‘etc.’ should not be written with an ampersand instead of the
‘et’ part (&c) except when an older source is being duplicated or
transcribed.
That is from a description of when to use etc. from proof-reading-service.com
Is "&c" a correct way to abbreviate "et cetera" in English? Or was it a temporary slang term, similar to "aint", but which never caught on and is used to be quaint?
abbreviations
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I recently asked someone why they had several instances of "&c" in their writing, to which they told me that &c is another abbreviation for et cetera. I have since looked it up and understand now where this comes from, with the "&" being more than just an "and" symbol, that written correctly it is actually based on, and looks like, "et".
Apparently some people have used it this way before, but "some people have done it, especially in the past" makes it neither correct nor accepted in general. One site I came across in my research on this even states that you should not do this.
Finally, ‘etc.’ should not be written with an ampersand instead of the
‘et’ part (&c) except when an older source is being duplicated or
transcribed.
That is from a description of when to use etc. from proof-reading-service.com
Is "&c" a correct way to abbreviate "et cetera" in English? Or was it a temporary slang term, similar to "aint", but which never caught on and is used to be quaint?
abbreviations
abbreviations
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
asked 4 hours ago
AaronAaron
1162
1162
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Aaron is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
It is not in current use, but in older writings e.g. 19th century & prior it frequently appears. The modern accepted abbreviation is "etc".
– WS2
3 hours ago
The correct modern abbreviation is "etc." Note that includes the period indicating an abbreviation. The "&c" abbreviation makes little sense. It's "et cetera", not "and cetera", and "&c" mixes the reference languages.
– R Mac
3 hours ago
5
@RMac It is my understanding, from the research I had just done, that "&" refers to the Latin "et" rather than the English "and", that we just happen to say "and" because we are speaking English. Whether that is accurate, I'm not sure, but that is what I read. Supposedly, a properly written historical "&" symbol was supposed to resemble a mixture of "e" and "t" together.
– Aaron
3 hours ago
1
@RMac Whether it "makes little sense or not" - it was certainly in widespread use at one time.
– WS2
3 hours ago
1
@RMac The ampersand is literally a stylistic variant of the letters Et. If anything, it’s using an ampersand to represent the English word and that mixes languages.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
1
It is not in current use, but in older writings e.g. 19th century & prior it frequently appears. The modern accepted abbreviation is "etc".
– WS2
3 hours ago
The correct modern abbreviation is "etc." Note that includes the period indicating an abbreviation. The "&c" abbreviation makes little sense. It's "et cetera", not "and cetera", and "&c" mixes the reference languages.
– R Mac
3 hours ago
5
@RMac It is my understanding, from the research I had just done, that "&" refers to the Latin "et" rather than the English "and", that we just happen to say "and" because we are speaking English. Whether that is accurate, I'm not sure, but that is what I read. Supposedly, a properly written historical "&" symbol was supposed to resemble a mixture of "e" and "t" together.
– Aaron
3 hours ago
1
@RMac Whether it "makes little sense or not" - it was certainly in widespread use at one time.
– WS2
3 hours ago
1
@RMac The ampersand is literally a stylistic variant of the letters Et. If anything, it’s using an ampersand to represent the English word and that mixes languages.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 hours ago
1
1
It is not in current use, but in older writings e.g. 19th century & prior it frequently appears. The modern accepted abbreviation is "etc".
– WS2
3 hours ago
It is not in current use, but in older writings e.g. 19th century & prior it frequently appears. The modern accepted abbreviation is "etc".
– WS2
3 hours ago
The correct modern abbreviation is "etc." Note that includes the period indicating an abbreviation. The "&c" abbreviation makes little sense. It's "et cetera", not "and cetera", and "&c" mixes the reference languages.
– R Mac
3 hours ago
The correct modern abbreviation is "etc." Note that includes the period indicating an abbreviation. The "&c" abbreviation makes little sense. It's "et cetera", not "and cetera", and "&c" mixes the reference languages.
– R Mac
3 hours ago
5
5
@RMac It is my understanding, from the research I had just done, that "&" refers to the Latin "et" rather than the English "and", that we just happen to say "and" because we are speaking English. Whether that is accurate, I'm not sure, but that is what I read. Supposedly, a properly written historical "&" symbol was supposed to resemble a mixture of "e" and "t" together.
– Aaron
3 hours ago
@RMac It is my understanding, from the research I had just done, that "&" refers to the Latin "et" rather than the English "and", that we just happen to say "and" because we are speaking English. Whether that is accurate, I'm not sure, but that is what I read. Supposedly, a properly written historical "&" symbol was supposed to resemble a mixture of "e" and "t" together.
– Aaron
3 hours ago
1
1
@RMac Whether it "makes little sense or not" - it was certainly in widespread use at one time.
– WS2
3 hours ago
@RMac Whether it "makes little sense or not" - it was certainly in widespread use at one time.
– WS2
3 hours ago
1
1
@RMac The ampersand is literally a stylistic variant of the letters Et. If anything, it’s using an ampersand to represent the English word and that mixes languages.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 hours ago
@RMac The ampersand is literally a stylistic variant of the letters Et. If anything, it’s using an ampersand to represent the English word and that mixes languages.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Eh.... depends?
An abbreviation is a shortening of something. Etc. spelled out is et cetera.
Et cetera is composed of et ("and"; French still retains this form with an unpronounced "t", Spanish drops the final consonant and just has y) and ceter-a, the plural of ceter-us, meaning things (plural) left behind, or remains, perhaps related to the Latin cēdere "to go, move away, withdraw, yield."
So we have etc., where the space is dropped and the letters for cetera are dropped and represented by a dot .
Technically, we have a symbol for "and" and technically et=and. So, with respect to transitive relation, sure: &c., why not? There is precedent the use of numbers or symbols in abbreviations. Take for example "W3", "EC2", and neologisms such as "LGBTQ+" .
I would suggest though you leave it as a plain "etc." (dot included). "&c." seems like an affectation.
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
add a comment |
I wouldn't call "&c." a slang term, given that even the Oxford English Dictionary used it in 1884 (see this page from the OED web site).
Typing "&c" as the search term into Google Books produces many more examples of its use in serious text books (Google Books link).
In its day, it was a normal abbreviation of etcetera. Only more recentry has "etc." taken over from it.
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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Eh.... depends?
An abbreviation is a shortening of something. Etc. spelled out is et cetera.
Et cetera is composed of et ("and"; French still retains this form with an unpronounced "t", Spanish drops the final consonant and just has y) and ceter-a, the plural of ceter-us, meaning things (plural) left behind, or remains, perhaps related to the Latin cēdere "to go, move away, withdraw, yield."
So we have etc., where the space is dropped and the letters for cetera are dropped and represented by a dot .
Technically, we have a symbol for "and" and technically et=and. So, with respect to transitive relation, sure: &c., why not? There is precedent the use of numbers or symbols in abbreviations. Take for example "W3", "EC2", and neologisms such as "LGBTQ+" .
I would suggest though you leave it as a plain "etc." (dot included). "&c." seems like an affectation.
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
add a comment |
Eh.... depends?
An abbreviation is a shortening of something. Etc. spelled out is et cetera.
Et cetera is composed of et ("and"; French still retains this form with an unpronounced "t", Spanish drops the final consonant and just has y) and ceter-a, the plural of ceter-us, meaning things (plural) left behind, or remains, perhaps related to the Latin cēdere "to go, move away, withdraw, yield."
So we have etc., where the space is dropped and the letters for cetera are dropped and represented by a dot .
Technically, we have a symbol for "and" and technically et=and. So, with respect to transitive relation, sure: &c., why not? There is precedent the use of numbers or symbols in abbreviations. Take for example "W3", "EC2", and neologisms such as "LGBTQ+" .
I would suggest though you leave it as a plain "etc." (dot included). "&c." seems like an affectation.
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
add a comment |
Eh.... depends?
An abbreviation is a shortening of something. Etc. spelled out is et cetera.
Et cetera is composed of et ("and"; French still retains this form with an unpronounced "t", Spanish drops the final consonant and just has y) and ceter-a, the plural of ceter-us, meaning things (plural) left behind, or remains, perhaps related to the Latin cēdere "to go, move away, withdraw, yield."
So we have etc., where the space is dropped and the letters for cetera are dropped and represented by a dot .
Technically, we have a symbol for "and" and technically et=and. So, with respect to transitive relation, sure: &c., why not? There is precedent the use of numbers or symbols in abbreviations. Take for example "W3", "EC2", and neologisms such as "LGBTQ+" .
I would suggest though you leave it as a plain "etc." (dot included). "&c." seems like an affectation.
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
Eh.... depends?
An abbreviation is a shortening of something. Etc. spelled out is et cetera.
Et cetera is composed of et ("and"; French still retains this form with an unpronounced "t", Spanish drops the final consonant and just has y) and ceter-a, the plural of ceter-us, meaning things (plural) left behind, or remains, perhaps related to the Latin cēdere "to go, move away, withdraw, yield."
So we have etc., where the space is dropped and the letters for cetera are dropped and represented by a dot .
Technically, we have a symbol for "and" and technically et=and. So, with respect to transitive relation, sure: &c., why not? There is precedent the use of numbers or symbols in abbreviations. Take for example "W3", "EC2", and neologisms such as "LGBTQ+" .
I would suggest though you leave it as a plain "etc." (dot included). "&c." seems like an affectation.
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
answered 3 hours ago
CarlyCarly
1,881213
1,881213
add a comment |
add a comment |
I wouldn't call "&c." a slang term, given that even the Oxford English Dictionary used it in 1884 (see this page from the OED web site).
Typing "&c" as the search term into Google Books produces many more examples of its use in serious text books (Google Books link).
In its day, it was a normal abbreviation of etcetera. Only more recentry has "etc." taken over from it.
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
add a comment |
I wouldn't call "&c." a slang term, given that even the Oxford English Dictionary used it in 1884 (see this page from the OED web site).
Typing "&c" as the search term into Google Books produces many more examples of its use in serious text books (Google Books link).
In its day, it was a normal abbreviation of etcetera. Only more recentry has "etc." taken over from it.
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
add a comment |
I wouldn't call "&c." a slang term, given that even the Oxford English Dictionary used it in 1884 (see this page from the OED web site).
Typing "&c" as the search term into Google Books produces many more examples of its use in serious text books (Google Books link).
In its day, it was a normal abbreviation of etcetera. Only more recentry has "etc." taken over from it.
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
I wouldn't call "&c." a slang term, given that even the Oxford English Dictionary used it in 1884 (see this page from the OED web site).
Typing "&c" as the search term into Google Books produces many more examples of its use in serious text books (Google Books link).
In its day, it was a normal abbreviation of etcetera. Only more recentry has "etc." taken over from it.
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
answered 2 hours ago
Simon BSimon B
2,6731018
2,6731018
add a comment |
add a comment |
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1
It is not in current use, but in older writings e.g. 19th century & prior it frequently appears. The modern accepted abbreviation is "etc".
– WS2
3 hours ago
The correct modern abbreviation is "etc." Note that includes the period indicating an abbreviation. The "&c" abbreviation makes little sense. It's "et cetera", not "and cetera", and "&c" mixes the reference languages.
– R Mac
3 hours ago
5
@RMac It is my understanding, from the research I had just done, that "&" refers to the Latin "et" rather than the English "and", that we just happen to say "and" because we are speaking English. Whether that is accurate, I'm not sure, but that is what I read. Supposedly, a properly written historical "&" symbol was supposed to resemble a mixture of "e" and "t" together.
– Aaron
3 hours ago
1
@RMac Whether it "makes little sense or not" - it was certainly in widespread use at one time.
– WS2
3 hours ago
1
@RMac The ampersand is literally a stylistic variant of the letters Et. If anything, it’s using an ampersand to represent the English word and that mixes languages.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
2 hours ago