Viz. aut viz?
-
- Textkit Fan
- Posts: 200
- Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:47 pm
- Location: London, UK
Viz. aut viz?
Which is the correct abbreviation for videlicet?
- Lucus Eques
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 2037
- Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:52 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
-
- Global Moderator
- Posts: 1387
- Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 11:19 pm
- Location: California
- Contact:
-
- Textkit Neophyte
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:55 am
-
- Textkit Member
- Posts: 142
- Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 6:24 am
I may not be a "great intellect", but:
1. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the form as "viz." with the period.
2. A contraction is of more than one word, and replaces the missing letters with an apostrophe (e.g. have not -> haven't). Viz. is the abbreviation of a single word: 'videlicet'. Although the letters left out are from the middle instead of the end, I am unaware of any rule requiring that such abbreviations not end with a period; I would write Mr. for 'mister'; Mrs. for 'mistress'. Some modern style guides (particularly in England) have taken to dropping almost all periods after abbreviations, in which case the question is moot anyway.
1. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the form as "viz." with the period.
2. A contraction is of more than one word, and replaces the missing letters with an apostrophe (e.g. have not -> haven't). Viz. is the abbreviation of a single word: 'videlicet'. Although the letters left out are from the middle instead of the end, I am unaware of any rule requiring that such abbreviations not end with a period; I would write Mr. for 'mister'; Mrs. for 'mistress'. Some modern style guides (particularly in England) have taken to dropping almost all periods after abbreviations, in which case the question is moot anyway.
-
- Textkit Zealot
- Posts: 718
- Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:29 pm
- Location: nanun Hanguge issoyo (in Korea sum)
- Contact:
whiteoctave informed this forum a few weeks ago that, in England, it is incorrect to write Mr., Mrs., and the like with periods. These, he explained, are not abbreviations but rather...some other term that I don't remember, since letters are dropped from the middle and not from the end. Having lived in England for the last four months (only recently returned), I can verify this standard, though I don't know how old it is. Of course, this doesn't help much with videlicet.2. A contraction is of more than one word, and replaces the missing letters with an apostrophe (e.g. have not -> haven't). Viz. is the abbreviation of a single word: 'videlicet'. Although the letters left out are from the middle instead of the end, I am unaware of any rule requiring that such abbreviations not end with a period; I would write Mr. for 'mister'; Mrs. for 'mistress'. Some modern style guides (particularly in England) have taken to dropping almost all periods after abbreviations, in which case the question is moot anyway.
-David
-
- Textkit Member
- Posts: 142
- Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 6:24 am
By this rule it DOES help with videlicet; since 'viz' is videlicz (z=et) with the middle letters removed, the proper British way of doing it would be without a period. However, since I myself am American and not British, and since we have no such rule of which I am aware, I will go on writing Mr. and viz. and so on.bellum paxque wrote:whiteoctave informed this forum a few weeks ago that, in England, it is incorrect to write Mr., Mrs., and the like with periods. These, he explained, are not abbreviations but rather...some other term that I don't remember, since letters are dropped from the middle and not from the end. Having lived in England for the last four months (only recently returned), I can verify this standard, though I don't know how old it is. Of course, this doesn't help much with videlicet.2. A contraction is of more than one word, and replaces the missing letters with an apostrophe (e.g. have not -> haven't). Viz. is the abbreviation of a single word: 'videlicet'. Although the letters left out are from the middle instead of the end, I am unaware of any rule requiring that such abbreviations not end with a period; I would write Mr. for 'mister'; Mrs. for 'mistress'. Some modern style guides (particularly in England) have taken to dropping almost all periods after abbreviations, in which case the question is moot anyway.
-David
Also, my understanding is that the British custom is moving towards doing away with periods (what do they call them - full stops?) altogether in abbreviations. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/pa ... 44,00.html
-
- Textkit Fan
- Posts: 200
- Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:47 pm
- Location: London, UK
-
- Textkit Neophyte
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:55 am
-
- Textkit Fan
- Posts: 200
- Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:47 pm
- Location: London, UK