The list below contains some of the common abbreviations found in scholarly documentation--that is, in footnotes, parenthetical notes, glossary entries, and bibliographic references in research papers, articles, and books. Ordinarily, abbreviations are not used in the body of an essay, article, or report.
Common Scholarly Abbreviations
abbr. abbreviation, abbreviated
adj. adjective
adv. adverb
anon. anonymous
b. born
c. (ca.) circa or around (used with dates)
cap. capital, capitalize
cf. compare
ch. (chap.) chapter
colloq. colloquial
conj. conjunction
d. died
def. definition
doc. document
ed. editor, edition, edited by
e.g. for example (from the Latin exempli gratia)
et al. and others (from the Latin et alii, et aliae, et alia)
etc. and so on (from the Latin et cetera)
fig. figure
ibid. in the same place (from the Latin ibidem)
i.e. that is (from the Latin id est)
illus. illustration, illustrated by
lang. language
narr. narrator, narrated by
NB take note (from the Latin nota bene)
no. number
obj. object
OED The Oxford English Dictionary
op. cit. in the work cited (from the Latin opere citato)
p., pp. page, pages
par. paragraph
pl. plural
poss. possessive
prep. preposition
pron. pronoun
PS postscript
pseud. pseudonym
pub. publisher, published by
qtd. quoted
rev. revision, revised by
rpt. reprint
sec. section
sing. singular
syn. synonym
trans. translation, translated by
U or univ. university
UP University Press
v. or vb. verb
viz. namely (from the Latin videlicet)
vol. volume
vs. versus
credit to source
