This is a list of common

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

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 perceived as foreign to English. In a few cases, English referents have replaced the original Latin ones (e.g., "

rest in peace Rest in peace (RIP), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace. ...

" for RIP and " postscript" for PS).

was once the universal academic language in Europe. From the 18th century, authors started using their mother tongues to write books, papers or proceedings. Even when Latin fell out of use, many Latin abbreviations continued to be used due to their precise simplicity and Latin's status as a learned language.

List of common abbreviations

All abbreviations are given with full stops, although, in most situations, these are omitted or included as a personal preference.

List of less common abbreviations and usages

Words and abbreviations that have been in general use but are currently used less often.

Used in biology

aff. ''Species affinis'' (commonly abbreviated to: ''sp.'', ''aff.'', or ''affin.'') is taxonomic terminology in zoology and botany. In open nomenclature it indicates that available material or evidence suggests that the proposed species is related to, h ...

(''affinis''): having affinity with, similar but not identical to * auct. ('' auctorum''): of the authors; indicates that a name is used in the sense of subsequent authors, and not in the sense of the original author * Ca. ( Candidatus): for candidate names of organisms that have not been completely accepted * ex. (''exemplar''): example or specimen; plural abbreviated as exx. * f. sp. (''

forma specialis ''Forma specialis'' (plural: ''formae speciales''), abbreviated f. sp. (plural ff. spp.) without italics, is an informal taxonomic grouping allowed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, that is applied to a paras ...

''): a special form adapted to a specific host; plural abbreviated as ff. spp. * in coll. (''in collectionem''): in the collection, often followed by the name of a collection or museum * indet. (''indeterminans''): undetermined, unidentified * leg. (''legit''): he/she collected, often followed by the name of the collector * nob. (''nobis''): by us, used to indicate that the writer(s) are the author(s) of a scientific name * sensu: "in the sense of", used for different groups of organisms * sp. (''

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 appropriat ...

''): species (singular); plural also ''species'', abbreviated as spp. * sp. nov. (''

species nova In biological taxonomy, a ' (plural: '; abbreviation: ' plural abbreviation: ') is a new species. The phrase is Latin, and is used after a binomial name that is being published for the first time. An example is the species of miniature frog, '' ...

''): new species (singular); plural is ''species novae'', abbreviated as spp. nov. * ssp., subsp. ('' subspecies''): subspecies (singular); plural is ''subspecies'', abbreviated sspp. or subspp.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Latin Abbreviations * Lists of phrases