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What would be the proper way to shorten the word "template" down to maximum of 3 symbols for use in busy diagrams and schemes in (bio)chemical context?

From here and there I only found TPL and TML examples to be more or less suitable. Also, just T is often used in the specialized literature, but I find it rather improper as it could easily be confused with "temperature". So which one is correct?

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  • I'm not sure about proper SE section, please let me know if this question fits English.SE better.
    – andselisk
    Jul 4, 2017 at 6:01
  • This is just my opinion, but I would say TPL is best because you are capturing significant parts of the word. TemPLate. The T stands for the first syllable, and the PL for the second.
    – Dangph
    Jul 4, 2017 at 6:03
  • @Dangph Thank you, this was my feeling too, I just didn't know how to substantiate it. Would you mind posting your comment as an answer?
    – andselisk
    Jul 4, 2017 at 6:06
  • To reduce potential confusion to a nullity, I would use TEMPLATE; or are vowels verboten by convention? If so, I propose TMPLT.
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Jul 4, 2017 at 6:10
  • @P.E.Dant I would prefer to keep the abbreviation as short as possible, but still recognizable and more or less unique. As I mentioned, this one goes into rather complex drawings where literally every letter counts, and using more than 3 symbols would be a luxury. Vowels are fine though.
    – andselisk
    Jul 4, 2017 at 6:13

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This is just my opinion, but I would say TPL is best because you are capturing significant parts of the word: TemPLate. The T stands for the first syllable, and the PL for the second.

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