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Revision as of 14:23, 31 January 2008 editThunderbird2 (talk | contribs)6,831 edits Undid revision 188151187 by Accountguyishere (talk)← Previous edit Revision as of 17:31, 20 February 2008 edit undoPmanderson (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers62,752 edits tweaksNext edit →
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|] || AM |] || AM
|- |-
|] || Bros. |] || Bros. (Largely British; should only be used in the names of companies that actually use it.)
|- |-
|'']'' ("around", "about", "approximately") || ca., c. |'']'' ("around", "about", "approximately") || ''ca''., ''c.''
|- |-
|] || Co. |] || Co.
|- |-
|'']'' ("compare", "consult") || cf. |'']'' ("compare", "consult") || ''cf''.
|- |-
|] || dept. or dept |] || dept. or dept
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|] (also ]d) || est. |] (also ]d) || est.
|- |-
|'']'' ("and others") || et al. |'']'' ("and others") || ''et al''.
|- |-
|'']'' ("and so forth") || etc. (&c. is obsolete) |'']'' ("and so forth") || etc. or ''etc''. (&c. is obsolete)
|- |-
|'']'' ("for example") || e.g. |'']'' ("for example") || ''e.g.''
|- |-
|] || FM |] || FM
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|] || HMS |] || HMS
|- |-
|'']'' ("that is"; "in other words") || i.e. |'']'' ("that is"; "in other words") || ''i.e.''
|- |-
|] || Ltd. |] || Ltd.

Revision as of 17:31, 20 February 2008

This guideline is a part of the English Misplaced Pages's Manual of Style.
It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.		Shortcuts
See Misplaced Pages:Shortcuts for redirects to the Misplaced Pages namespace.
See Misplaced Pages:Edit summary legend for abbreviations in edit summary boxes.
See Misplaced Pages:Naming conventions (abbreviations) for abbreviations in article names

In Misplaced Pages, abbreviations for common terms are often in parentheses within the head paragraph. Misplaced Pages has found it both practical and efficient to use the following abbreviations.

Manual of Style (MoS)

Content
Formatting
Images
Layout
Lists
By topic area
Legal
Arts
Music
History
Regional
Religion
Science
Sports
Related guidelines
Word(s) Abbreviation
General abbreviations
abbreviation abbr.
approximately/approximated approx.
absent without leave AWOL
amplitude modulation AM
Brothers Bros. (Largely British; should only be used in the names of companies that actually use it.)
circa ("around", "about", "approximately") ca., c.
Company Co.
confer ("compare", "consult") cf.
department dept. or dept
district dist.
division div.
edition/editor (editions/editors) ed. (eds.)
established (also estimated) est.
et alii ("and others") et al.
et cetera ("and so forth") etc. or etc. (&c. is obsolete)
exempli gratia ("for example") e.g.
frequency modulation FM
gross national product/gross domestic product GNP/GDP
Her Majesty's Ship HMS
id est ("that is"; "in other words") i.e.
Limited Ltd.
manufacturer/manufactory (manufacturing) mfr. (mfg.)
personal computer PC
publisher (published) pub. (pubd.)
public limited company plc
Répondez s'il-vous-plaît ("respond please") RSVP
revised rev.
United States Ship USS
versus ("against", "in constrast to") v (legal), vs. or vs (sports)
videlicet ("that is to say"; "namely") viz. (link only once)
volume vol.
Time
Anno Domini ("in the year of the Lord") AD or A.D.
ante meridiem ("before noon") a.m. or am
Before Christ BC or B.C.
Before the Common Era BCE
Common Era CE
Greenwich Mean Time GMT
post meridiem ("after noon") p.m. or pm
Places
Avenue Ave. or Ave
Boulevard Blvd. or Blvd
Highway Hwy. or Hwy
Latitude lat.
Longitude long.
Mount, mountain Mt. or Mt
Road Rd. or Rd
Street St. or St
Organizations
Academy Acad.
Association Assn. or Assn
Corporation Corp. or Corp
Incorporated Inc. or Inc
Institute/Institution Inst.
Limited Ltd. or Ltd
University Univ. or U.
Academic degrees, titles and ranks
Bachelor of Arts (Artium Baccalaureus) BA or B.A. (or A.B.)
Bachelor of Laws (Legum Baccalaureus) LLB or LL.B.
Bachelor of Science BS or B.S., BSc or B.Sc.
Captain Capt. or Capt
Colonel Col. or Col
Commander Cmdr., Cdr., Comdr. or Cdr
Corporal Cpl. or Cpl
Doctor Dr. or Dr
Doctor of Medicine (Medicinæ Doctor) MD or M.D.
Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiæ Doctor) PhD or Ph.D.
General Gen. or Gen
Honorable Hon.
Junior Jr. or Jr
Lieutenant Lt. or Lt
Mister Mr. or Mr
Missus Mrs. or Mrs
Monsignor Msgr., Mons. or Msgr
registered nurse RN or R.N.
Reverend Rev. or Rev
Right Honourable Rt. Hon. or Rt Hon
Saint St. or St
Senior Sr. or Sr
Sergeant Sgt. or Sgt
Staff Sergeant SSgt. or SSgt
Technical Sergeant TSgt. or TSgt
States and organisations
European Union EU
Inland Revenue IR
Internal Revenue Service IRS
International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP
North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO
Organization of American States OAS
Royal Air Force RAF
Royal Navy RN
Securities and Exchange Commission SEC
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization SEATO
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics USSR
United Kingdom UK
United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO
United Nations (Organization) UN (UNO)
United States US (U.S. more common in AmE)
United States Air Force USAF
United States Army USA
United States Coast Guard USCG
United States Marine Corps USMC
United States Navy USN
United States of America USA (use US if appropriate)
World Health Organization WHO
Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA
Young Women’s Christian Association YWCA

Special considerations

  • Current and former postal codes and abbreviations – such as TX for Texas, Calif. for California, Yorks for Yorkshire – should not be used to stand in for the full names in normal text.
  • Mt. (and the British Mt) should not be used. Mount or Mountain should be spelled out in most situations. Exceptions are made for official names and registered trademarks. (Similarly "Saint" vs "St." or "St" in placenames should depend upon their official usage).
  • Editors should almost invariably give the full name of something to be abbreviated the first time it is used, unless it is part of everyday speech and writing (such as "e.g.", "2 a.m.", etc.). For example, "The World Intellectual Propery Organization (WIPO) is heavily involved with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). WIPO's long-standing ICANN role..."

See also