Questions tagged [abbreviations]
For questions about the shortened forms of words or phrases.
173
questions
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Should a full stop punctuation be used in Abbreviations?
I've noticed a full stop (period) after "UTC" on the Enthusiast badge page. In my understanding, the presence or absence of the period after the abbreviation doesn't seem to affect the ...
- 792
2
votes
1
answer
83
views
What does "n.x" stand for in books?
I know in books, "p. 12" means page 12, but what is meant by "n. 9"?
- 27
1
vote
1
answer
322
views
How to read A.D. and B.C.?
I know they refer to Before Christ and Anno Domini, but I'm not sure if I should read Before Christ or just "B, C"(the pronunciation of letters).
- 13
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
English abbreviation : they're or they're not
Are they here yet?
a. No, they're not.
b. Yes, they're.
I was told the answer is a. Why is it not b?
- 137
0
votes
0
answers
36
views
Is 'improvs' a normal abbreviation of 'improvisation'?
The 'improvisation' was apparently abbreviated as 'improvs' in this scenario:
For example, when we are brainstorming or when we are conducting some sort of idea generation at work, or even when we ...
- 3,173
2
votes
2
answers
198
views
Can I say, "Any help needed?" to offer my help?
I saw a lady on street who seemed lost. She was searching for somewhere by Google Map. I wanted to help her.
At that time, could I just say, "Any help needed?", which is grammatically not ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
82
views
The abbreviation of "debit" is "dr."
How come "dr." means "debit"? Where does "r" come from? Thank you!
- 1,175
0
votes
2
answers
31
views
an sp³ carbon or a sp³ carbon?
It is a chemical term used to denote the hybridization of an atom. It is an initialism of "s orbital and p orbital" to get "sp".
"sp" starts with a consonant letter so ...
0
votes
1
answer
173
views
Capital and Lowercase Acronyms
Why is the acronym for sport utility vehicle (SUV) capitalized but for miles per gallon (mpg) it is lowercased?
- 195
0
votes
1
answer
112
views
What is "7k run"? [closed]
What is "7k run"? I didn't find any sense in a respective dictionary entry that would match the context
This is the text,
My work day: 4am start, 7k run and cold showers
- 3,340
0
votes
1
answer
55
views
The Big D, little a double l-a
What is the meaning of "little a double l-a"? The phrase comes from "Big D" lyrics. I know Big D refers to Dallas. I am sorry if I have asked a question that has an obvious answer. ...
- 1,175
2
votes
1
answer
86
views
Should there be a period in "¾-in(.) wrench"?
Use a ¾-in wrench to tighten the nut
The above example is from 'Writing in the Technical field' by Thorsten Ewald this above sentence, why didn't we use a period after the inch symbol?
- 87
5
votes
3
answers
600
views
Why didn't we pluralize the abbreviated form in the sentence below in spite of the non-abbreviated form being pluralized?
Of the nine traction power sub-stations (TPSS), five shall be equipped with four DC feeders and four shall be equipped with six DC feeders.
the above sentence is an example in the book ' Writing in ...
- 87
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What does P.P.A. mean?
I'm reading a book called Introduction to Algorithms, Fourth Edition, and I'd like to know what does the abbreviation "P.P.A." mean in the paragraph below?:
Julie Sussman, P.P.A., came to ...
- 317
0
votes
1
answer
19
views
Punctuation Structure
And don't let anyone play tricks with you. I - er - gather that discipline was not always your strong point at Melbury?
This text is from Good Bye Mr. Chips (Novel, first chapter). Can anyone explain ...
- 309
0
votes
1
answer
68
views
a.s. abbreviation
This is one of the etymologies of 'whale' in Moby Dick:
Whale It is more immediately from the Dut. and Ger. Wallen; a.s. Walw-ian, to roll, to wallow.
What does the abbreviation 'a.s.' stand for ...
- 443
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Long form of "typo" [closed]
The definition of typo, according to Cambridge Dictionary:
a small mistake in a text made when it was typed or printed
Can anyone tell me the long form of typo?
user153201
0
votes
0
answers
20
views
Verb: abbreviation stand for/ are used for
I am working on my reseach project and in a tabelle I used abbreviation. After the tabelle i want to explain them.
How to explain it?
in tabelle , the following abbreviation stand for: A is ..., B is ...
Noel Miller
1
vote
1
answer
414
views
What is the abbreviation for "column"?
While references usually refer to page numbers, e.g.
Smith, J. On a a certain subject. In: Obscure Journal 2022, pp. 75-81.
it is sometimes (e.g., in some lexicons) necessary to refer to text ...
- 189
0
votes
1
answer
310
views
Is there a simple abbreviation for "petrol" or "gasoline"?
I'm making a list of vehicles, and I'd like to add the type of fuel used in engines of said vehicles right after the engine size, which is rather easy when the fuel is diesel, because that's ...
- 26
0
votes
2
answers
102
views
Meaning of ID in "ID CARD"
What exactly does "ID" stand for? Is it an abbreviation of "identity document", or is it just the first two letters of the word "identity"? If it is an abbreviation of &...
- 249
27
votes
4
answers
5k
views
If a sentence ends with an abbreviation (e.g. "[...] he lived in the U.S."), does that mean "U.S" is a correct abbreviation?
I came across the sentence "He visited Chicago many times when he lived in the U.S.", and seemingly the last period is for the ending of the sentence. So is "U.S" a correct ...
- 557
0
votes
0
answers
86
views
Comma after “viz.” in “viz.(,) that”?
Concerning the usage of “viz.” in American English, in ODO we find examples with and without the comma after “viz.” when a “that”-introduced clause follows:
This leads many people towards the second, ...
user142975
0
votes
2
answers
79
views
Comma in “i.e. that”
Consider the sentence:
We claim that these sets are disjoint, i.e., 𝑋ᵢ ∩ 𝑋ⱼ = ∅ for different 𝑖,𝑗 ⩾ 0.
A proofreader (from whom I can no longer get an answer) changed it:
We claim that these ...
user142975
-1
votes
1
answer
57
views
TA (Abbreviation, AmE) [closed]
Context: in a book, two college girls are talking about their lives in a quite colloquial, friendly tone. One of them says: "I made out with my girl TA last week". Does anyone know what &...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
How do you indicate plural with abbreviations in lowercase?
If I want to make a lowercase abbreviation plural, how do I do it? I've found loads and loads of information about how to pluralise acronyms, written in uppercase, but nothing about lowercase ...
- 1,702
-1
votes
1
answer
45
views
What does "CCs" stand for?
Chadd E. Hunt tweeted:
And this my friend is why you do not ride bicycles, mopeds or anything under 400 CCs on a road that has commercial traffic. You will literally get swept up and dropped by the ...
- 3,643
0
votes
0
answers
55
views
What does "DPs" mean?
After collaborating in writing a paper with a person, he submitted the paper to a journal, in his email to us, he wrote:
It has been a nice collaboration, thanks for the excellent work!
Should we ...
- 563
1
vote
1
answer
32
views
How to make these titles more concise?
I have two lists. The first one is a list of some task with the title of "the tasks that I have performed in this project" and the second one is a list of some skills with the title of "...
- 1,050
0
votes
1
answer
236
views
What is the meaning of "PO"? [closed]
I encountered a sentence, "My parents were so POed when I got into this." when I was watching an anime show. What does PO stand for? I guess its meaning is something like angry but have no ...
- 1,382
-3
votes
1
answer
329
views
What does "pc’d" mean? [closed]
I read on https://redd.it/q75w0s:
Travel rewards can only get a 1.5 c/pt (plus any preferred rewards increases) redemption rate when redeeming for travel or dining statement credits (a feature like ...
- 5,601
0
votes
0
answers
67
views
What is PSA short for?
I saw an article with the following passage.
This is a PSA for all the ‘nice guys’ out there — please kindly f--k off.
While I understand by the context that it's some kind of warning or heads-up, I ...
- 4,295
0
votes
3
answers
199
views
Can you use "PM" for "pro memoria"?
As the heading suggests, I'm wondering whether the abbreviation "PM" can be used for "pro memoria". I've looked it up in a number of dictionaries, but none of them list 'pro ...
- 1,702
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
Abbreviating the thing one'll surely do
When someone says as an example:
Ask me any questions you had.
I want to respond like this:
Will sure do.
Or
Sure will.
I've seen these two structures but it feels more correct to use an adverb ...
- 323
1
vote
1
answer
481
views
Why is the abbreviation pp used to mean pages?
I read on https://english.stackexchange.com/a/117978/17712
pp stands for pages
Why is the abbreviation pp used to mean pages?
I tried to search for the answer, but couldn't find the answer yet. I ...
- 5,601
1
vote
1
answer
264
views
'Phone' or 'mobile'? - British English
What is the correct/standard and idiomatic British English short form of 'mobile phone' - phone, or mobile?
- 249
9
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Is there a short form for “somewhere”?
I had look through the dictionary and found there are short form for “somebody” and “something”, which are “SB” and “sth”. However I couldn’t find a short form for “somewhere”. Is there a short form ...
- 91
0
votes
2
answers
236
views
What does the abbreviation CMT stand for?
I'm watching a show about prisoners called Jailbirds. They're taking their commissaries and then the male guard said: "You wanna save your CMTs too." I'm not sure what CMT stands for here.
0
votes
2
answers
75
views
If it’s SF it’s bad SF
What does "SF" stand for? Given both Kafka's Metamorphosis Animal Farm being a novella, SF is possibly a novella too. Searching returns back San Francisco, I am not sure it is correct in ...
- 3,643
0
votes
1
answer
78
views
what does this abbreviation mean?
What does this mean:
a force 10 disaster area
it is taken from Mr. Bean Facebook page
?
In particular what means the number "10" there ?
- 287
1
vote
0
answers
37
views
How do we capitalize a hyphenated adjective which starts with an abbrevation in the beginning of a sentence?
I am really confused right now and I can't seem to find a straight answer to this question.
I was writing an essay and I am stumped on the correct capitalization when it came to starting a sentence ...
1
vote
2
answers
147
views
Inquiry about first, middle and last names
I have a question regarding my name and how to write it in the United States application forms since I'm planning to undergo some exams there.
I'm an Arabic National
My first name is Omar
My father ...
- 21
-2
votes
1
answer
64
views
Is 'UR' an abbreviation or a name?
Is the word 'UR' here a name or an abbreviation? Thanks in advance.
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
112
views
Word for changing abbreviation into text
On the Internet, I found the phrase
Function changes a short abbreviation into a text block
For instance, an abbreviation of "US" changes to "United States".
I feel there should ...
- 153
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How do you pronounce FAQs?
I've found online translators like Microsoft Bing Translator could be used in place of typing. Just read your text to the translator in Standard English and it would type it out for you.
I read the ...
- 3,643
0
votes
1
answer
120
views
What do you call the number assigned to official documents at the university?
I wonder what you call the number that's assigned to an official document when it's archived – more precisely I'm wondering about official documents at the university, like strategic plans, ...
- 506
0
votes
2
answers
135
views
What do the letters "ft." often seen on songs authors names - stand for?
What do the letters "ft." very often seen on songs authors names - stand for?
Don't Look Back In Anger - Vintage New Orleans Oasis Cover ft. Maiya Sykes (YouTube)
- 27k
0
votes
1
answer
28
views
In CO (Colorado Office?)
Does "CO" stand for "Colorado Office"? Or just "Colorado"?
Rebecca Ballhaus tweeted:
Jenna Ellis has said she is a former Colorado prosecutor and State Dept attorney. In ...
- 3,643
0
votes
0
answers
45
views
What does me'me here stand for?
The following is a verse from the song Gates of Dawn by the band Secret Garden:
And whose is the hand who raises the sun from the heaving sea?
The power that ever amazes -
We look, but never will see....
- 101
0
votes
2
answers
229
views
What do Maxell's "XLII-S "and "MX" stand for? [closed]
Does anybody know what Maxell's "XLII-S "and "MX" stand for?
During the height of the Compact Audio Cassette's popularity, Maxell's audio cassettes were held in high regard, ...
- 1,175