The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used only to suggest a comparison, and the word "see" be used to point to a source of information.
Biological use
In
biological naming conventions, ''cf.'' is commonly placed between the
genus name and the
species name to describe a specimen that is hard to identify because of practical difficulties, such as poor preservation. For example, " cf. " indicates that the specimen is in the genus ''
Barbus'' and believed to be , but the actual species-level identification cannot be certain.
''Cf.'' can also be used to express a possible identity, or at least a significant resemblance, such as between a newly observed specimen and a known
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
or
taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
.
Such a usage might suggest a specimen's membership of the same genus or possibly of a shared higher taxon. For example, in the note ", cf. ", the author is confident of the order and family (
Diptera
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
:
Tabanidae) but can only suggest the genus (''
Tabanus'') and has no information favouring a particular species.
See also
*
Aff.
*
Citation signal
*
List of Latin abbreviations
This is a list of common Latin abbreviations. Nearly all the abbreviations below have been adopted by Modern English. However, with some exceptions (for example, ''versus'' or ''modus operandi''), most of the Latin referent words and phrases are ...
* ''
Viz.
The abbreviation ''viz.'' (or ''viz'' without a full stop) is short for the Latin , which itself is a contraction of the Latin phrase ''videre licet'', meaning "it is permitted to see". It is used as a synonym for "namely", "that is to say", "to ...
''
References
External links
* {{Wiktionary-inline, cf.
Abbreviations
Latin words and phrases