| A.M. | (Anno Mundi), In the year of the world. |
| A.M. | (Ante meridiem), Forenoon. |
| Anon. | Anonymous. |
| A.U.C. | (Anno urbis conditae), In the year from the building of the city (i.e. Rome). |
| A.V. | Authorized version of the Bible. |
| b. | born. |
| B.V.M. | The Blessed Virgin Mary. |
| B.C. | Before Christ. |
| c. | circa, about. |
| C. or Cap. | (Caput), Chapter. |
| C. | Centigrade (or Celsius’s) Thermometer. |
| cent[1] | (Centum), A hundred, frequently £100. |
| Cf. or cp. | (Confer), Compare. |
| Ch. or Chap. | Chapter. |
| C.M.S. | Church Missionary Society. |
| Co. | Company, County. |
| C.O.D. | Cash on Delivery. |
| Cr. | Creditor. |
| curt. | Current, the present month. |
| d. | died. |
| D.G. | (Dei gratia), By the grace of God. |
| Do. | Ditto, the same. |
| D.O.M. | (Deo Optima Maximo), To God the Best and Greatest. |
| Dr. | Debtor. |
| D.V. | (Deo volente), God willing. |
| E.& O.E. | Errors and omissions excepted. |
| e.g. | (Exempli gratia), For example. |
| etc. or &c. | (Et caetera), And the rest; and so forth. |
| Ex. | Example. |
| F. or Fahr. | Fahrenheit’s Thermometer. |
| Fec. | (Fecit), He made (or did) it. |
| fl. | flourished. |
| Fo. or Fol. | Folio. |
| f.o.b. | Free on board. |
| G.P.O. | General Post Office. |
| H.M.S. | His Majesty’s Ship, or Service. |
| Ib. or Ibid. | (Ibidem), In the same place. |
| Id. | (Idem), The same. |
| i.e. | (Id est), That is. |
| I.H.S. | A symbol for “Jesus,” derived from the first three letters of the Greek (Ι Η Σ); the correct origin was lost sight of, and the Romanized letters were then interpreted erroneously as standing for Jesus, Hominum Salvator, the Latin “h” and Greek long “e” being confused.
|
| I.M.D.G. | (In majorem Dei gloriam), To the greater glory of God. |
| Inf. | (Infra), Below. |
| Inst. | Instant, the present month. |
| I.O.U. | I owe you. |
| i.q. | (Idem quod), The same as. |
| κ.τ.λ. | (καὶ τὰ λοιπά), Et caetera, and the rest. |
| L. or Lib. | (Liber), Book. |
| Lat. | Latitude. |
| l.c. | (Loco citato), In the place cited. |
| Lon. or Long. | Longitude. |
| L.S. | (Locus sigilli), The place of the seal. |
| Mem. | (Memento), Remember, Memorandum. |
| MS. | Manuscript.MSS. Manuscripts. |
| N.B. | (Nota bene), Mark well; take notice. |
| N.B. | North Britain (i.e. Scotland). |
| N.D. | No date. |
| nem. con. | (Nemine contradicente), No one contradicting. |
| No. | (Numero), Number. |
| N.S. | New Style. |
| N.T. | New Testament. |
| ob. | (Obiit), Died. |
| Obs. | Obsolete. |
| O.H.M.S. | On His Majesty’s Service. |
| O.S. | Old Style. |
| O.S.B. | Ordo Sancti Benedicti (Benedictines). |
| O.T. | Old Testament. |
| P. | Page.Pp. Pages. |
 |
(Per), For; e.g. ℔., For one pound.
|
| Pinx. | (Pinxit), He painted it. |
| P.M. | (Post Meridiem), Afternoon. |
| P.O. | Post Office, Postal Order. |
| P.O.O. | Post Office Order. |
| P.P.C. | (Pour prendre congé), To take leave. |
| P.R. | Prize-ring. |
| prox. | (Proximo [mense]), Next month. |
| PS. | Postscript. |
| Pt. | Part. |
| pt. or pro tem. | (Pro tempore), For the time. |
| P.T.O. | Please turn over. |
| Q., Qu., or Qy. | Query; Question. |
| q.d. | (Quasi dicat), As if he should say; as much as to say. |
| Q.E.D. | (Quod erat demonstrandum). Which was to be demonstrated. |
| Q.E.F. | (Quad erat faciendum), Which was to be done. |
| q.s. or quant. suff. | (Quantum sufficit), As much as is sufficient. |
| q.v. | (Quod vide), Which see. |
| R. or ℞. | (Recipe), Take. |
| √ (=r. for radix), | The sign of the square root. |
| R.I.P. | (Requiescat in pace!), May he rest in peace! |
| R.S.V.P. | (Répondez s’il vous plait), Please reply. |
| sc. | (Scilicet), Namely; that is to say. |
| Sc. or Sculp. | (Sculpsit), He engraved it. |
| S.D.U.K. | Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. |
| seq. or sq., seqq. or sqq. | (Sequens, sequentia), The following. |
| S.J. | Society of Jesus. |
| s.p. | (Sine prole), Without offspring. |
| S.P.C.K. | Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. |
| S.P.G. | Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. |
| S.T.D. | Doctor, Bachelor, Licentiate of Theology. |
| S.T.B. | |
| S.T.L. | |
| Sup. | (Supra), Above. |
| s.v. | (Sub voce), Under the word (or heading). |
| T.C.D. | Trinity College, Dublin. |
| ult. | (Ultimo [mense]), Last month. |
| U.S. | United States. |
| U.S.A. | United States of America. |
| v. | (Versus), Against. |
| v. or vid. | (Vide), See. |
| viz. | (Videlicet), Namely |
| Xmas. | Christmas. This Χ is a Greek letter, corresponding to Ch. |
See also Graevius’s Thesaurus Antiquitatum (1694, sqq.); Nicolai’s Tractatus de Siglis Veterum; Mommsen’s Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (1863, sqq.); Natalis de Wailly’s Paléographie (Paris, 1838); Alph. Chassant’s Paléographie (1854), and Dictionnaire des Abréviations (3rd ed. 1866); Campelli, Dizionario di Abbreviature (1899).
ABBREVIATORS, a body of writers in the papal chancery, whose business was to sketch out and prepare in due form the pope’s bulls, briefs and consistorial decrees before these are written out in extenso by the scriptores. They are first mentioned in Extravagantes of John XXII. and of Benedict XII. Their number was fixed at seventy-two by Sixtus IV. From the time of Benedict XII. (1334–1342) they were classed as de Parco majori or Praesidentiae majoris, and de Parco minori. The name was derived from a space in the chancery, surrounded by a grating, in which the officials sat, which is called higher or lower (major or minor) according to the proximity of the seats to that of the vice-chancellor. After the protonotaries left the sketching of the minutes to the abbreviators, those de Parco majori, who ranked as prelates, were the most important officers of the apostolic chancery. By Martin V. their signature was made essential to the validity of the acts of the chancery; and they obtained in course of time many important privileges. They were suppressed in 1908 by Pius X. and their duties were transferred to the protonotarii apostolici participantes. (See Curia Romana.)
ABDALLATIF, or Abd-ul-Latif (1162–1231), a celebrated physician and traveller, and one of the most voluminous writers of the East, was born at Bagdad in 1162. An interesting memoir of Abdallatif, written by himself, has been preserved with additions by Ibn-Abu-Osaiba (Ibn abī Usaibia), a contemporary. From that work we learn that the higher education of the youth of Bagdad consisted principally in a minute and careful study of the rules and principles of grammar, and in their committing to memory the whole of the Koran, a treatise or two on philology and jurisprudence, and the choicest Arabian poetry. After attaining to great proficiency in that kind of learning, Abdallatif applied himself to natural philosophy and medicine. To enjoy the society of the learned, he went first to Mosul (1189), and afterwards to Damascus. With letters of recommendation from Saladin’s vizier, he visited Egypt, where the wish he had long cherished to converse with Maimonides, “the Eagle of the Doctors,” was gratified. He afterwards formed one of the circle of learned men whom Saladin gathered around him at Jerusalem. He taught medicine and philosophy at Cairo and at Damascus for a number of years, and afterwards, for a shorter period, at Aleppo. His love of travel led him in his old age to visit different parts of Armenia and Asia Minor, and he was setting out on a pilgrimage to Mecca when he died at Bagdad in 1231. Abdallatif was undoubtedly a man of great knowledge and of an inquisitive and penetrating mind. Of the numerous works—mostly on medicine—which Osaiba ascribes to him, one only,
- ↑ “Per cent.” is often signified by %, a form traceable to “100.”
