The Oxford English Dictionary: List of Abbreviations

June 1996

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

A
a. (in Etym.) adoption of, adopted from
a (as a 1850) ante, 'before', 'not later than'
a. adjective
abbrev. abbreviation (of)
abl. ablative
absol. absolute, -ly
Abstr. (in titles) Abstract, -s
acc. accusative
Acct. (in titles) Account
A.D. Anno Domini
ad. (in Etym.) adaptation of
Add. Addenda
adj. adjective
Adv. (in titles) Advance, -d, -s
adv. adverb
advb. adverbial, -ly
Advt. advertisement
(as label) in Aeronautics; (in titles) Aeronautic, -
Aeronaut.
al, -s
AF., AFr. Anglo-French
Afr. Africa, -n
Agric. (as label) in Agriculture; (in titles) Agriculture, - al
Alb. Albanian
Amer. American
Amer. Ind. American Indian
Anat. (as label) in Anatomy; (in titles) Anatomy, - ical
Anc. (in titles) Ancient
Anglo-Ind. Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Ir. Anglo-Irish
Ann. Annals
(as label) in Anthropology; (in titles)
Anthrop., Anthropol.
Anthropology, -ical
Antiq. (as label) in Antiquities; (in titles) Antiquity
aphet. aphetic, aphetized
app. apparently
Appl. (in titles) Applied
Applic. (in titles) Application, -s
appos. appositive, -ly
Arab. Arabic
Aram. Aramaic
(as label) in Architecture; (in titles) Architecture,
Arch.
-al
Arm. Armenian
assoc. association
Astr. in Astronomy
Astrol. in Astrology
Astron. (in titles) Astronomy, -ical
Astronaut. (in titles) Astronautic, -s
attrib. attributive, -ly
Austral. Australian
Autobiogr. (in titles) Autobiography, -ical
A.V. Authorized Version

B
B.C. Before Christ
B.C. (in titles) British Columbia
bef. before
(as label) in Bibliography; (in titles) Bibliography,
Bibliogr.
-ical
(as label) in Biochemistry; (in titles)
Biochem.
Biochemistry, -ical
Biol. (as label) in Biology; (in titles) Biology, - ical
Bk. Book
Bot. (as label) in Botany; (in titles) Botany, -ical
Bishop
Bp.
Brit. (in titles) Britain, British
Bulg. Bulgarian
Bull. (in titles) Bulletin

C
c (as c 1700) circa, 'about'
c. (as 19th c.) century
Cal. (in titles) Calendar
Cambr. (in titles) Cambridge
Canad. Canadian
Cat. Catalan
catachr. catachrestically
Catal. (in titles) Catalogue
Celt. Celtic
Cent. (in titles) Century, Central
Cent. Dict. Century Dictionary
Cf., cf. confer, 'compare'
Ch. Church
Chem. (as label) in Chemistry; (in titles) Chemistry, - ical
Chr. (in titles) Christian
Chron. (in titles) Chronicle
Chronol. (in titles) Chronology, -ical
Cinemat., Cinematogr. in Cinematography
Clin. (in titles) Clinical
cl. L. classical Latin
cogn. w. cognate with
Col. (in titles) Colonel, Colony
Coll. (in titles) Collection
collect. collective, -ly
colloq. colloquial, -ly
comb. combined, -ing
Comb. Combinations
Comm. in Commercial usage
Communic. in Communications
comp. compound, composition
Compan. (in titles) Companion
compar. comparative
compl. complement
Compl. (in titles) Complete
Conc. (in titles) Concise
Conch. in Conchology
concr. concrete, -ly
Conf. (in titles) Conference
Congr. (in titles) Congress
conj. conjunction
cons. consonant
const. construction, construed with
contr. contrast (with)
Contrib. (in titles) Contribution
Corr. (in titles) Correspondence
corresp. corresponding (to)
R. Cotgrave, Dictionarie of the French and
Cotgr.
English tongues
cpd. compound
Crit. (in titles) criticism, critical
Cryst. in Crystallography
Cycl. (in titles) Cyclopaedia, -ic
Cytol. (in titles) Cytology, -ical

D
Da. Danish
D.A. Dictionary of Americanisms
D.A.E. Dictionary of American English
dat. dative
D.C. District of Columbia
Deb. (in titles) Debate, -s
def. definite, -ition
dem. demonstrative
deriv. derivative, -ation
derog. derogatory
Descr. (in titles) Description, -tive
Devel. (in titles) Development, -al
Diagn. (in titles) Diagnosis, Diagnostic
dial. dialect, -al
Dict. dictionary; spec., the Oxford English Dictionary
dim. diminutive
Dis. (in titles) Disease
Diss. (in titles) Dissertation
D.O.S.T. Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue
Du. Dutch

E
E. East
(as label) in Ecclesiastical usage; (in titles)
Eccl.
Ecclesiastical
Ecol. in Ecology
Econ. (as label) in Economics; (in titles) Economy, - ics
ed. edition
E.D.D. English Dialect Dictionary
Edin. (in titles) Edinburgh
Educ. (as label) in Education; (in titles) Education, - al
EE. Early English
e.g. exempli gratia, 'for example'
Electr. (as label) in Electricity; (in titles) Electricity, - ical
Electron. (in titles) Electronic, -s
Elem. (in titles) Element, -ary
ellipt. elliptical, -ly
Embryol. in Embryology
e.midl. east midland (dialect)
Encycl. (in titles) Encyclopaedia, -ic
Eng. England, English
Engin. in Engineering
Ent. in Entomology
Entomol. (in titles) Entomology, -logical
erron. erroneous, -ly
esp. especially
Ess. (in titles) Esssay, -s
et al. et alii, 'and others'
etc. et cetera
Ethnol. in Ethnology
etym. etymology
euphem. euphemistically
Exam. (in titles) Examination
exc. except
Exerc. (in titles) Exercise, -s
Exper. (in titles) Experiment, -al
Explor. (in titles) Exploration, -s

F
f. feminine
f. (in Etym.) formed on
f. (in subordinate entries) form of
F. French
fem. (rarely f.) feminine
fig. figurative, -ly
Finn. Finnish
fl. floruit, 'flourished'
Found. (in titles) Foundation, -s
Fr. French
freq. frequent, -ly
Fris. Frisian
Fund. (in titles) Fundamental, -s
Funk or Funk's Stand. Dict. Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary

G
G. German
Gael. Gaelic
Gaz. (in titles) Gazette
gen. genitive
gen. general, -ly
(as label) in Geography; (in titles) Geography, -
Geogr.
ical
Geol. (as label) in Geology; (in titles) Geology, - ical
Geom. in Geometry
Geomorphol. in Geomorphology
Ger. German
Gloss. Glossary
Gmc. Germanic
F. Godefroy, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue
Godef.
francaise
Goth. Gothic
Govt. (in titles) Government
Gr. Greek
Gr. Great
Gram. (as label) in Grammar; (in titles) Grammar, - tical
Gt. Great
H
Heb., Hebr. Hebrew
Her. in Heraldry
Herb. among herbalists
Hind. Hindustani
Hist. (as label) in History; (in titles) History, - ical
hist. historical
Histol. (as label) in Histology; (in titles) Histology, - ical
Hort. in Horticulture
Househ. (in titles) Household
Housek. (in titles) Housekeeping

I
Ibid. Ibidem, 'in the same book or passage'
Icel. Icelandic
Ichthyol. in Ichthyology
id. idem, 'the same'
i.e. id est, 'that is'
IE. Indo-European
Illustr. (in titles) Illustration, -ted
imit. imitative
Immunol. in Immunology
imp. imperative
impers. impersonal
impf. imperfect
ind. indicative
indef. indefinite
Industr. (in titles) Industry, -ial
inf. infinitive
infl. influenced
Inorg. (in titles) Inorganic
Ins. (in titles) Insurance
Inst. (in titles) Institute, -tion
int. interjection
intr. intransitive
Introd. (in titles) Introduction
Ir. Irish
irreg. irregular, -ly
It. Italian

J
J., (J.) (quoted from) Johnson's Dictionary
(Jam.) Jamieson, Scottish Dict.
Jap. Japanese
joc. jocular, -ly
Jrnl. (in titles) Journal
Jun. (in titles) Junior

K
Knowl. (in titles) Knowledge

L
l. line
L. Latin
lang. language
Lect. (in titles) Lecture, -s
Less. (in titles) Lesson, -s
Let., Lett. letter, letters
LG. Low German
lit. literal, -ly
Lit. Literary
Lith. Lithuanian
LXX Septuagint

M
m. masculine
Mag. (in titles) Magazine
Magn. (in titles) Magnetic, -ism
Mal. Malay, Malayan
Man. (in titles) Manual
Managem. (in titles) Management
Manch. (in titles) Manchester
Manuf. in Manufacture, -ing
Mar. (in titles) Marine
masc. (rarely m.) masculine
(as label) in Mathematics; (in titles)
Math.
Mathematics, -al
MDu. Middle Dutch
ME. Middle English
Mech. (as label) in Mechanics; (in titles) Mechanics, - al
Med. (as label) in Medicine; (in titles) Medicine, - ical
med.L. medieval Latin
Mem. (in titles) Memoir, -s
Mataph. in Metaphysics
(as label) in Meteorology; (in titles) Meteorology,
Meteorol.
-ical
MHG. Middle High German
midl. midland (dialect)
Mil. in military usage
(as label) in Mineralogy; (in titles) Mineralogy, -
Min.
ical
Mineral. (in titles) Mineralogy, -ical
MLG. Middle Low German
Mics. (in titles) Miscellany, -eous
mod. modern
mod.L. modern Latin
(Morris) (quoted from) E. E. Morris's Austral English
Mus. (as label) in Music; (in titles) Music, -al; Museum
Myst. (in titles) Mystery
Mythol. in Mythology

N
N. North
n. neuter
N.Amer. North America, -n
N.&Q. Notes and Queries
Narr. (in titles) Narrative
Nat. (in titles) Natural
Nat. Hist. in Natural History
Naut. in nautical language
N.E. North East
New English Dictionary, original title of the
N.E.D.
Oxford English
Dictionary (first edition) Neurol. in Neurology
neut. (rarely n.) neuter
NF., NFr. Northern French
No. Number
nom. nominative
north. northern dialect
Norw. Norwegian
n.q. no quotations
N.T. New Testament
Nucl. Nuclear
Numism. in Numismatics
N.W. North West
N.Z. New Zealand

O
obj. object
obl. oblique
Obs., obs. obsolete
Obstetr. (in titles) Obstetric
occas. occasionally
OE. Old English (= Anglo-Saxon)
OF., OFr. Old French
OFris. Old Frisian
OHG. Old High German
OIr. Old Irish
ON. Old Norse
ONF. Old Northern French
Ophthalm. in Ophthalmology
opp. opposed (to), the opposite (of)
Opt. in Optics
Org. (in titles) Organic
orig. origin, -al, -ally
(as label) in Ornithology; (in titles) Ornithology, -
Ornith.
ical
OS. Old Saxon
OSl. Old (Church) Slavonic
O.T. Old Testament
Outl. (in titles) Outline
Oxf. (in titles) Oxford

P
p. page
Palaeogr. in Palaeography
Palaeont. in Palaeontology; (in titles)
passive participle, past participle
Palaeontology, -ical pa. pple.
(quoted from) E. Partridge's Dictionary of Slang
(Partridge)
and
Unconventional English pass. passive, -ly
pa.t. past tense
Path. (as label) in Pathology; (in titles) Pathology, - ical
perh. perhaps Pers. Persian
pers. person, -al
Petrogr. in Petrography
Petrol. (as label) in Petrology; (in titles) Petrology, - ical
(Pettman) (quoted from) C. Pettman's Africanderisms
pf. perfect
Pg. Portuguese
Pharm. in Pharmacology
Philol. (as label) in Philology; (in titles) Philology, - ical
Philos. (as label) in Philosophy; (in titles) Philosophy, - ic
phonet. phonetic, -ally
(as label) in Photography; (in titles) Photography,
Photogr.
-ical
phr. phrase
Phys. physical; (rarely) in Physiology
(as label) in Physiology; (in titles) Physiology, -
Physiol.
ical
Pict. (in titles) Picture, Pictorial
pl., plur. plural
poet. poetic, -al
Pol. Polish
Pol. (as label) in Politics; (in titles) Politics, - al
Pol. Econ. in Political Economy
Polit. (in titles) Politics, -al
pop. popular, -ly
Porc. (in titles) Porcelain
poss. possessive
Pott. (in titles) Pottery
ppl. a., pple. adj. participial adjective
pple. participle
Pr. Provencal
pr. present
Pract. (in titles) Practice, -al
prec. preceding (word or article)
pred. predicative
pref. prefix
pref., Pref. preface
prep. preposition
pres. present
Princ. (in titles) Principle, -s
priv. privative
prob. probably
Probl. (in titles) Problem
Proc. (in titles) Proceedings
pron. pronoun
pronunc. pronunciation
prop. properly
Pros. in Prosody
Prov. Provencal
pr. pple. present participle
Psych. in Psychology
(as label) in Psychology; (in titles) Psychology, -
Psychol.
ical
Publ. (in titles) Publications

Q
Q. (in titles) Quarterly
quot(s). quotation(s)
q.v. quod vide, 'which see'

R
R. (in titles) Royal
Radiol. in Radiology
R.C.Ch. Roman Catholic Church
Rec. (in titles) Record
redupl. reduplicating
Ref. (in titles) Reference
refash. refashioned, -ing
refl. reflexive
Reg. (in titles) Register
reg. regular
rel related to
Reminisc. (in titles) Reminiscence, -s
Rep. (in titles) Report, -s
repr. representative, representing
Res. (in titles) Research
Rev. (in titles) Review
rev. revised
Rhet. in Rhetoric
Rom. Roman, -ce, -ic
Rum. Rumanian
Russ. Russian

S
S. South
S.Afr. South Africa, -n
sb. substantive
sc. scilicet, 'understand' or 'supply'
Sc., Scot. Scottish
Scand. (in titles) Scandinavia, -n
Sch. (in titles) School
Sc. Nat. Dict. Scottish National Dictionary
Scotl. (in titles) Scotland
Sel. (in titles) Selection, -s
Ser. Series
sing. singular
Sk. (in titles) Sketch
Skr. Sanskrit
Slav. Slavonic
S.N.D. Scottish National Dictionary
Soc. (in titles) Society
Sociol. (as label) in Sociology; (in titles) Sociology, - ical
Sp. Spanish
Sp. (in titles) Speech, -es
sp. spelling
spec. specifically
Spec. (in titles) Specimen
St. Saint
Stand. Standard
(quoted from) Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised
Stanf.
Words & Phrases
str. strong
Struct. (in titles) Structure, -al
Stud. (in titles) Studies
subj. subject
subord. cl. subordinate clause
subseq. subsequent, -ly
subst. substantively
suff. suffix
superl. superlative
Suppl. Supplement
Surg. (as label) in Surgery; (in titles) Surgery, Surgical
s.v. sub voce, 'under the word'
Sw. Swedish
s.w. south-western (dialect)
Sydenham Society, Lexicon of Medicine & Allied
Syd. Soc. Lex.
Sciences
syll. syllable
Syr. Syrian
Syst. (in titles) System, -atic

T
Taxon. (in titles) Taxonomy, -ical
techn. technical, -ly
Technol. (in titles) Technology, -ical
Telegr. in Telegraphy
Teleph. in Telephony
(Th.) (quoted from) Thornton's American Glossary
Theatr. in the Theatre, theatrical
Theol. (as label) in Theology; (in titles) Theology, - ical
Theoret. (in titles) Theoretical
Tokh. Tokharian
tr., transl. translated, translation
Trans. (in titles) Transactions
trans. transitive
transf. transferred sense
Trav. (in titles) Travel(s)
Treas. (in titles) Treasury
Treat. (in titles) Treatise
Treatm. (in titles) Treatment
Trig. in Trigonometry
Trop. (in titles) Tropical
Turk. Turkish
Typog., Typogr. in Typography

U
ult. ultimately
Univ. (in titles) University
unkn. unknown
U.S. United States
U.S.S.R. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
usu. usually

V
v., vb. verb
var(r)., vars. variant(s) of
vbl. sb. verbal substantive
Vertebr. (in titles) Vertebrate, -s
(as label) in Veterinary Science; (in titles)
Vet.
Veterinary
Vet. Sci. in Veterinary Science
viz. videlicet, 'namely'
Voy. (in titles) Voyage, -s
v.str. strong verb
vulg. vulgar
v.w. weak verb

W
W. Welsh; West
wd. word
Webster Webster's (New International) Dictionary
Westm. (in titles) Westminster
WGmc. West Germanic
Wks. (in titles) Works
w.midl. west midland (dialect)
WS. West Saxon

Y
(Y.) (quoted from) Yule & Burnell's Hobson- Jobson
Yrs. (in titles) Years

Z
Zoogeogr. in Zoogeography
Zool. (as label) in Zoology; (in titles) Zoology, - ical

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