Common & Uncommon Abbreviations for Research Papers
CONTENTS
Some Common Abbreviations
| abbr. – abbreviation, abbreviated | abr. – abridged, abridgment |
| acad. – academic, academy | adj. – adjective, adjourned, adjustment |
| adm. – administration, admiral | adv. – adverb |
| agr. / agri. / agric. – agricultural, agriculture | anon. – anonymous |
| app. – appended, appendix, appointed | approx. – approximately |
| assn. – association | b. – base, bass, bat, battery, bay, book, born, brother |
| bact. – bacteria, bacteriology | bap. – baptized |
| bib. – Bible, biblical | bibliog. – bibliographer, bibliography, bibliographic |
| biog. – biographer, biography, biographical | biol. – biology |
| bk. – bank, block, book | bkg. – banking |
| bldg. – building | blvd. – boulevard |
| bot. – botanical, botany | bp. – bishop |
| brig. – brigade, brigadier | brig. gen. – brigadier general |
| bro. – brother | bur. – bureaus |
| c.a. – chartered accountant, chief accountant, commercial agent, consular agent, controller of accounts | cal. – calendar, caliber, small calorie |
| cap. – capital, capitalize | capt. – captain |
| cath. – cathedral | cc / cc. / c.c. – cubic centimeters |
| cent. – centigrade, centimeter, central, century | cf. – Latin confer = compare |
| ch. – chaplain, chapter, check (chess), chief, child, children, Latin chirurgia = surgery, church | chap. – chaplain, chapter |
| chem. – chemical, chemist, chemistry | chm. – chairman, checkmate (chess) |
| chron. – chronology | cir. /circ. – circular, Latin circa = about |
| cit. – citation, cited, citizen | civ. – civil, civilian |
| clk. – clerk | cm / cm. – centimeter(s) |
| co. – company, county | c.o. / c/o – care of, carried over |
| c.o.d. – cash on delivery, collect on delivery | col. – collected, collector, college, colonel, colonial, colony, column |
| colloq. – colloquial, colloquialism | com. – comedy, command, commandant, commerce, commercial, commission(er), committee, commodore, common, communication, community |
| comdr. – commander | comr. – commissioner |
| comp. – compiler, compiled by | con. – concerto, consolidated, consul |
| cond. – conductor, conducted by | conf. – conference |
| cong. – congress | consol. – consolidated |
| constr. – construction | cont. – containing, contents, continent, continental, continue, continued |
| cont. / contd. – continued | corp. – corporal, corporation |
| cp. – candlepower, compare | cpl. – corporal |
| cr. – credit, creditor, creek | crit. – criticism |
| ct. – carat, cent, court | cu. – cubic |
| cwt. – hundredweight | d. – dam (pedigrees), date, daughter, day(s), dead, democrat, density, diameter, died |
| d. – pence, penny | dec. – deceased, declaration, declension, declination, decrease, Italian deprescendo = decreasing in loudness (music), |
| def. – definition, definite | deg. – degree(s) |
| dep. – department, departure, deposit, depot, deputy | dept. – department, deputy |
| der. / deriv. – derivation, derivative | diag. – diagram |
| dial. – dialect | dict. – dictionary |
| dim. – Italian diminuendo = diminishing in loudness (music) | dipl. – diplomat, diplomatic |
| dir. – director, directed by | disc. – discount, discovered |
| dist. – distinguished, district | distr. – distribution, distributed by |
| div. – dividend, division, divorced | dm / dm. – decameter, decimeter |
| do. – Latin ditto = the same | doc. – document |
| doz. – dozen | dpt. – department |
| dr. – debit, debtor, drachma, dram | d.t. – delirium tremens, double time |
| dup. / dupl. – duplicate | dwt. – pennyweight |
| e / e. – erg, errors (Baseball) | ea. – each |
| eccl. / eccles. – ecclesiastical | ecol. – ecology |
| econ. – economic, economics, economy | ed. – edited, edited by, edition, editor |
| e.g. – Latin exempli gratia = for example | elec. / elect. – electric, electrical, electrician, electricity |
| elev. – elevation | emp. – emperor, empire, empress |
| e.m.u. – electromagnetic unit | enc. – enclosed |
| ency. / encyc. / encycl. – encyclopedia | eng. – engineer, engineering, engraved |
| entom. / entomol. – entomologist, entomology | esp. – especially |
| est. – established, estimate | et al. – Latin et alibi = and elsewhere, Latin et alii, et aliae = and others |
| etc. – Latin et cetera = and so forth | et seq. – Latin et sequens = and the following, Latin et sequentes or seqentia = and those that follow |
| ex. – examined, example | exch. – exchange, exchequer |
| exec. – executive, executor | ex lib. – Latin ex libris = from the books of |
| f – Italian forte = loud (music) | f. – farad, father, farthing, fathom, feminine, fluid (ounce), folio, following, franc, frequency |
| fac. / fax – facsimile | fed. – federal, federated, federation |
| fem. – female, feminine | ff – Italian fortissimo = very loud (music) |
| ff. / fol. – folios, following | fig. – figure |
| fin. – finance | fl. – florin, flourished, fluid |
| fn. – footnote | fr. – fragment, franc, from |
| ft = feet, foot | ft. – fort |
| fwd. – foreword, foreword by | g / g. / gm – gram |
| gal / gall. – gallon | gaz. – gazette, gazetteer |
| gen. – gender, genera, general, genus | geog. – geographer, geographical, geography |
| geol. – geologic, geologist, geology | geom. – geometric, geometry |
| gloss. – glossary | gov. – governor |
| govt. – government | gr – grain(s), gram(s) |
| gram. – grammar, grammarian | hab. corp. – Latin habeas corpus = that you have the body |
| her. – heraldry | hist. – historian, historical, history |
| hort. – horticultural, horticulture | hr – hour(s) |
| ht. – height | ib. / ibid. – Latin ibidem = in the same place |
| id. – Latin idem = the same | i.e. – Latin id est = that is |
| illus. – illustrator, illustration, illustrated by | imp. – imperative, imperial, imports, Latin imprimatur = let it be printed |
| in. – inch, inches | inc. – including, income, incorporated |
| in loc. cit. – Latin in loco citato = in the place cited | ins. – inches, insurance |
| inst. – instant, institute, institution | intl. – international |
| introd. – introduction, introduced by | is. – island, isle |
| jour. – journal | jr. – junior |
| jud. – judicial | k. – kilo, kilogram, thousand |
| kg – kilogram (note: no period after kg) | kilo. – kilogram, kilometer |
| km – kilometer (note: no period after km) | kt. – carat |
| kw – kilowatt (note: no period after kw) | l – liter |
| l, ll – line, lines | lab. – laboratory |
| lang. – language | lat. – latitude |
| lb – Latin libra = pound | l.c. – Latin loco citato = in the place cited |
| lib. – liberal, library, librarian | lieut. / lt. – lieutenant |
| lit. – literally, literary, literature | ltd. – limited |
| lon. / long. – longitude | m. – male, married, meridian, Latin meridies = noon, meter, mile, minute, month |
| mach. – machine, machinist | mag. – magazine |
| maj. – major | mas. / masc. – masculine |
| math. – mathematician, mathematics | mdse. – merchandise |
| mech. – mechanical, mechanics | med. – medical, medicine, medieval |
| mem. / memo – Latin memento = remember, memorandum | mfg. – manufacturing |
| mfr. – manufacture, manufacturer | mg / mg. / mgm – milligram |
| mgr. – manager | mi – miles, mill (note: no period after mi) |
| misc. – miscellaneous | ml / ml. – milliliter |
| mm – millimeter(s), Latin millia = thousands | mo. – month(s) |
| mod. – moderate, modern | ms. / mss. – manuscript, manuscripts |
| mt. / mts. – mount, mountain, mountains | mus. – museum, music, musician |
| n / nn – note, notes | n. – noun |
| narr. – narrator, narrated by | natl. – national |
| nav. – naval, navigation | n.b. – Latin nota bene = mark well, take notice |
| n.d. – no date of publication | neg. – negative |
| no. – number | non seq. – Latin non sequitur = it does not follow |
| n.p. – no place of publication, no publisher | n. pag. – no page number |
| obit. – obituary | obj. – object, objective |
| op. cit. – Latin opere citato = in the work cited | orch. – orchestra, orchestrated by |
| orig. – original, originally | oz. – ounce (Italian abbrev. of onza) |
| p. / pp. – page, pages | par. – paragraph, parallel |
| pat. /patd. – patent, patented | pct. – percent |
| p.d. – Latin per diem = by the day | pen. – peninsular |
| perf. – performer, performed by | philos. – philosopher, philosophy |
| phys. – physical, physician, physicist, physics | pl. – plate, plural |
| ppd. – postpaid, prepaid | pref. – preface, preface by |
| prin. – principal, principle | prod. – produced by, producer, production |
| pro tem. – Latin pro tempore = for the time being | pron. – pronoun, pronunciation |
| pseud. – pseudonym | psych. / psychol. – psychological, psychologist, psychology |
| pt – pint (note: no period after pt) | pt. – part, payment, point, port |
| pub. / publ. – public, publisher, publication, published by | pwt – pennyweight (note: no period after pwt) |
| q. – quarto, question | qr. – quarter |
| qt – quart (note: no period after qt) | qt. – quiet (slang) |
| qtd. – quoted | ques. – question |
| quot. – quotation | r.b.i. / rbi / RBI – run(s) batted in (Baseball) |
| quot. – quotation | rec. – receipt, recipe, record, recorded |
| ref. – referee, reference, reformed | reg. – regent, regiment, region, registered, registrar, regular, regulation |
| rel. – release | rev. – review, reviewed by, revision, revised, revised by |
| riv. – river | rpm – revolutions per minute |
| rps – revolutions per second | rpt. – reprint, reprinted by |
| s. – saint, second, semi-, shilling, silver, sire, solo, son, soprano, south | sc. – scene |
| sch. – school | sci. – science, scientific, scientist |
| sculp / sculp. – sculptor, sculptural, sculpture | sec – secant, second(s) |
| sec. / secy. – secretary | sec. / sect. – section |
| ser. – series | serg. / sergt. / sgt. – sergeant |
| [sic.] – thus in the source (exactly as quoted) | sing. – singular |
| sol. – solicitor | sp. – special, species, specific, specimen, spelling, spirit |
| sq. – square, sequence | sub. – submarine, substitute, suburb |
| subj. – subject, subjective, subjunctive | sup. – superior, supplement, supply, (Latin supra = above), supreme |
| supt. – superintendent | surg. – surgeon, surgery |
| sym. – symbol, symphony | syn. – synonym, synonymous |
| t. – temperature, tempo, (Latin tempore = in the time of), tenor, tense (grammar), territory, time, ton(s), town, transitive, troy (weight) | tbs. / tbsp. – tablespoon |
| tel. – telegram, telegraph, telephone | temp. – temperature, temporary |
| terr. – territory | theol. – theologian, theological, theology |
| topog. – topographical, topography | trans. / tr. – translated by, translation, translator |
| treas. – treasurer, treasury | trig. / trigon. – trigonometric, trigonometry |
| tsp. – teaspoon | twp. – township |
| ult. – ultimate | univ. – universal, university |
| usu. – usually | uv – ultraviolet (note: no period after uv) |
| v. – verb, verse, versus, Latin vide = see, voltage, von (German name) | var. – variant |
| vb. – verb | vers. – version |
| vet. – veteran, veterinary | viz. – Latin videlicet = namely |
| vet. – veteran, veterinary | vol. – volcano, volume |
| vox. pop. – Latin vox populi = voice of the people | v.p. – vice president, vice principal |
| vs. / v. – Latin versus = against | vs. / vss. – verse, verses |
| v.s. – Latin vide supra = see above | wpm – words per minute |
| writ. – writer, written by | wt – weight (no period after wt) |
| yd – yard(s) | yr – year |
| zn = zinc |
For a complete list of Common Scholarly Abbreviations, please see Section 7.4 in the 6th edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
Abbreviations of Degrees
Note: When documenting sources using MLA style, the normal punctuation is omitted for degrees when used in parentheses, tables, works cited, footnotes, endnotes, etc. For example, B.A. is written as BA. Other abbreviations retain the periods if applicable, e.g. acad., bib., misc.
Italics = Latin
| BA – Bachelor of Arts | BBA – Bachelor of Business Administration |
| BS – Bachelor of Science | DA – Doctor of Arts |
| EdD – Doctor of Education | JD – Doctor of Law |
| LLB – Bachelor of Laws (legum baccalaureus) | LLD – Doctor of Laws (legum doctor) |
| LLM – Master of Laws (legum magister) | MA – Master of Arts |
| MBA – Master of Business Administration | MD – Doctor of Medicine (medicinae doctor) |
| MS – Master of Science | PhD – Doctor of Philosophy |
Also, great post to read about US and Canada Map.
Links to Common, Uncommon, and Specialized Abbreviations
Acronym Finder. Look up acronyms, abbreviations and their meanings.
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Acronym Search. Your source for acronyms and abbreviations.
Canadian Government Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms.
Common Abbreviations for posting messages on Bulletin Boards – from BabyCentre.co.uk. Examples: AKA = Also known as, LOL = Laughing out loud, BTW = By the way, CUL = See you later, Yw/Ty = You’re welcome/thank you. Emotions: 🙂 or 🙂 = Smiling (Happy), 🙁 or 🙁 = Frowning (Sad), 😮 = Shouting, xxooxxoo = Love (or hugs) & kisses. See also Shorthand and Meaning from Genealogy.com. (Scroll way down the page to view Shorthand). Examples: = I’m grinning, IMHO = in my humble opinion, FYI = for your information, FWIW = for what it’s worth, ROTFL = rolling on the floor laughing, WTG = way to go, Emotions: 😉 or 😉 = winking, 😀 or 😀 = laughing.
Common Abbreviations from Fact Monster for kids.
Common Abbreviations, Common Symbols, Acronyms for Organizations from Web-based Training Modules funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program.
Common Abbreviations from U.S. Department of State.
Common Abbreviations and Acronynms from AllEarsNet.com – Deb’s Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide.
Common Abbreviations in Writing.
Common Abbreviations Used in International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
HyperWar – World War II on the WorldWideWeb – Abbreviations, Acronyms, Codewords, Terms.
Military Abbreviations and Acronyms of the US Armed Forces.
Also, great post to read concerning Abbreviations for Books of the Bible.
