Commonly Used Latin in Scholarly Manuscripts
Paul V. Hartman
The following appear as: Latin word(s), pronunciations (L=Latin,
E=English), meaning, and comments.
1. c circa KIHR-kah (L) SIR-kah (E)
"about" Indicates uncertainty in a date.
"Chaucer was born c AD 1340"
2. e.g. exempli gratia eks-EHM-plee GRAH-te-ah
"for instance" When reading aloud, say "for example"
3. et al et alia et AH-lee-ah
"and others" When reading aloud, say "and others"
4. etc. et cetera et KAY-teh-rah (L) et SET-er-ah (E)
"and so on" Applies to things, not persons.
When reading aloud, say et-SET-er-ah.
5. Ibid ibidem IH-bih-dem (L) IB-e-dem (E)
"in the same place" A reference in a footnote, bibliography,
etc., with identical source as the previous.
Capitalized and italic, as in: "Ibid., p.102"
Pronounce the shorter form EYE-bid.
6. Id idem EE-dem (L) ID-em (E)
"the same" Similar to Ibid, but refers to the previously
mentioned author, not the work. "Id., p.102"
7. i.e. id est ID EST (L and E)
"that is" Clarifies a statement just made. It does not
mean "for example". As in: "He went to Stonegate
(i.e. north) before turning toward the sea."
8. loc. cit. loco citato LAW-koh kih-TAH-toh (L)
LOH-koh sigh-TAH-toh (E)
"in the place cited" Like Ibid and Id, refers to something
already mentioned, in this case a previously
mentioned passage, as in: "Shakespeare, loc. cit."
9. N.B. nota bene NAW-tah BEH-neh (L and E)
"take notice"; "note well" Used to call attention to what follows.
10. op. cit. opere citato AW-peh-reh kih-TAH-toh (L and E)
"in the work cited" "Shakespeare, op. cit., p.706"
11. q.v. quod vide KWAD WE-day (L) cue-vee (E)
"which see" A scholars way of providing a cross reference.
A name, phrase, etc., followed by a comma and q.v.
would tell the reader that the name, phrase, etc.,
is explained elsewhere in the text.
12. sic SICK
"thus so" appearing as (sic), indicates a word or phrase
used in text which appears to be misspelled or used
incorrectly, but nevertheless is the word or
spelling meant to be used. However, if (sic) is used
in text being quoted, the (sic) means "that word is
not our error, but the way it was written originally."
13. vide infra WE-day IN-frah (L) Vee-day IN-frah (E)
"read below" A scholarly reference to further mention of the
topic later on: "you will find out more about this
when you read further." Also: vide supra refers to
something discussed in the text previously.
14. viz. videlicet we-DAY-lih-keht (L) and vee-DAY-lis-it (E)
"namely; to wit; it is permitted to see; as follows..."
When reading aloud, say "namely", not "viz".
15. QED quod erat demonstrandum
Nearly always appears only as the intitials. Which
means: "the thing is proven."
Finally:
16. c.q. not a Latin abbreviation; it is a typesetter's code.
These letters following a word or name mean that the word is
spelled correctly even though it looks erroneous. Since it is code
from a writer to the printer, it is not supposed to appear in
print, though occasionally it does.
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