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.
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 wih-DAY-lih-keht (L and E)
"namely; to wit; it is permitted to see"
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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