| A.C. | (Ante Christum) before Christ |
| A.D. | (Anno Domini) in the year of our Lord |
| Ad lib. | (Ad libitum) at pleasure |
| Adj. | Adjective |
| Adv. | Adverb |
| Æt | (Ætatis) of age, aged |
| A.H. | (Anno Hegiræ) in the year of the Hegira |
| Alt. | Altitude |
| A.M. | (Anno Mundi) in the year of the world |
| An. | (Anno) in the year |
| An. A. C. | (Anno ante Christum) in the year before Christ |
| Anat. | Anatomy |
| Anc. | Ancient |
| Ang.-Sax. | Anglo-Saxon |
| Anom. | Anomalous |
| Anon. | Anonymous |
| Ap. | Apostle |
| Apo. | Apogee |
| Apoc. | Apocalypse, Apocrypha |
| A.R. | (Anno regni) in the year of the reign |
| Arch. | Architecture |
| A.R.R. | (Anno regni regis) in the year of the reign of the king |
| Arr. | Arrival |
| Art. | Article |
| Assoc., Assn. | Association |
| Astrol. | Astrology |
| Astron. | Astronomy |
| A.U.C. | (Anno urbis Conditæ) in the year of the building of the city of Rome |
| Auth. Ver. | 
| | or A.V. |
| Authorized Version of the Bible |
| Av. | Average |
| Ave. | Avenue |
| B. | (Basso) Bass; bay; born |
| B.C. | Before Christ |
| Boul. | Boulevard |
| B.V. | (Bene Vale) Farewell |
| C. | Cape |
| Cæt. par. | (Cæteris paribus) other things being equal |
| Cap. | (caput) Chapter |
| C. or Cent. | Centigrade |
| Cf. | (conferre) compare |
| Ch. | Child or children |
| C.H. | Court House |
| Chap. | Chapter |
| Circ. | Circle(s) |
| Cit. | Citizen |
| Col. | Column |
| Coll. | College |
| Comp. | Companion, comparative |
| Cong. | Congress |
| C.Q.D. | Marconi Distress signal |
| D.B. | Domesday Book |
| D.C. | (Da Capo) From the beginning; again |
| Dec. | Declination |
| Deg. | Degree(s) |
| Del. | (Delineavit) he drew it |
| Dem. | Democrat |
| D.G. | (Dei gratia) by the grace of God; (Deo gratias) thanks to God |
| D.V. | (Deo volente) God willing |
| E. | East, Eagle(s) |
| Ea. | Each |
| E.B. | English Bible (common) |
| Ed. | Editor, Edition |
| E.E. | Errors excepted |
| E.G. | (Exempli gratia) by way of example |
| Elec. | Electricity |
| E.N.E. | East-northeast |
| Ent. | Entomology |
| E.S.E. | East-southeast |
| Etal. | (Et alibi) and elsewhere; (et alii) and others |
| Etc. | (Et cætera) and so forth |
| Et seq. | (Et sequentia) the following |
| Ex. | Example |
| Exc. | Exception |
| F., Fahr. | Fahrenheit (thermometer) |
| Fec. | (Fecit) he made it |
| Fem. or f. | Feminine |
| Fig(s). | Figure(s) |
| Finn. | Finnish |
| Fol. or f., ff. | Folio(s) |
| For. | Foreign |
| Ft. | Fort |
| Gent. | Gentleman |
| Ger. | German |
| Goth. | Gothic |
| Gr. | Greek |
| H. | Husband |
| Hdkf. | Handkerchief |
| H.e. | (Hoc est) that is, or, this is |
| Hist. | History, Historical |
| H.J.S. | (Hic jacet sepultus) here lies buried |
| H.M.P. | (Hoc monumentum posuit) erected this monument |
| H.R.I.P. | (Hic requiescit in pace) here lies in peace |
| H.S. | (Hic situs) here lies |
| Ibid. Ib. | (Ibidem) in the same place |
| Id. | (Idem) the same |
| I.e. | (Id est) that is |
| I.H.S. | First letters of ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, Greek for Jesus, or Iesus hominum salvator, Jesus the Savior of Mankind |
| Illus. | Illustrated |
| Imp. | Imperative (mood) |
| Incog. | (Incognito) Unknown |
| Indef. | Indefinite |
| Indic. | Indicative (mood) |
| Infin. | Infinitive (mood) |
| In lim. | (In limine) at the outset |
| In loc. | (In loco) in the place |
| Inst. | (instante) the current month |
| Int. | Interest |
| Interj. | Interjection |
| In trans. | (In transit) On the passage |
| Ion. | Ionic |
| Ir. | Irish |
| Irreg. | Irregular |
| Isl. | Island |
| Ital. | Italic |
| Itin. | Itinerary |
| J.H.S. | See I.H.S. |
| Jour. | Journal |
| Lat. | Latin, latitude |
| L.c. | (Loco citato) in the place cited |
| L.l. | (Loco laudato) in the place quoted |
| Long. or long. | Longitude |
| L.S. | (Locus sigilli) place of the seal |
| LXX | The Septuagint |
| M. | (Meridies) noon |
| M. | Married |
| Mem. | Memorandum, Memoranda |
| Mgr. | Manager |
| Misc. | Miscellaneous |
| Mo(s). | Month, months |
| M.S. | (Memoriæ sacrum) sacred to the memory |
| MS. | (Manuscriptum) manuscript |
| MSS. | Manuscripts |
| Mt. | Mount, Mont |
| Myth. | Mythology |
| N. | Noun, note(s) |
| Nat. | National |
| Naut. | Nautical |
| N.B. | (Nota Bene) note well |
| Nem. con or |
| | nem. diss. |
| (Nemine contradicente or nemine dissentiente) none opposing |
| N.L. | (Non liquet) It does not appear |
| N. lat. | North latitude |
| N.N.E. | North-northeast |
| N.N.W. | North-northwest |
| Nom. | Nominative |
| Nol. Pros. | (Nol prosequi) indicates in law that a complaint will not be prosecuted |
| N.S. | New Style (After 1752) |
| N.T. | New Testament |
| N.u. | Name(s) unknown |
| N.V.M. | Nativity of the Virgin Mary |
| N.W. | Northwest |
| Ob. | (Obiit) he or she died |
| Obj. | Objective (case) |
| Obs. | Obsolete |
| O.F. | Odd Fellow(s) |
| O.H.M.S. | On His Majesty's Service |
| Olym. | Olympiad |
| Op. | Opposite |
| O.S. | Old Style (before 1752) |
| O.T. | Old Testament |
| P. or pp. | Page or pages |
| Par. | Paragraph |
| Par. pas. | Parallel passage(s) |
| Parl. | Parliament |
| Part. | Participle |
| Partic. | Particle |
| Pass. | Passive (voice) |
| Pen. | Peninsula |
| Pent. | Pentecost |
| Perf. | Perfect (tense) |
| Pers. | Person |
| Pers. pron. | Personal pronoun |
| Persp. | Perspective |
| Phil. | Philosophy |
| Pinx. | (Pinxit) he painted it |
| Pl. | Plate(s) |
| Plff. | Plaintiff |
| Plup. | Pluperfect |
| Plur. | Plural |
| P.M. | (Post Meridiem) afternoon to midnight |
| P.O. | Post-office |
| Pop. | Population |
| Posit. | Positive |
| P.p. | Past participle |
| P.P.C. | (Pour prendre congé) to take leave |
| P. pr. | Participle present |
| P.R. | (Populus Romanus) the Roman people |
| Pref. | Preface |
| Pret. | Preterite tense |
| Pron. | Pronoun |
| Pro tem. | (Pro tempore) for the time being |
| Pr. p. | Present participle |
| P.S. | Privy Seal |
| P.T.O. | Please turn over |
| Pt. | Point |
| Pub. | Publisher |
| Pub. Doc. | Public Documents |
| Q. | Question |
| Q.B. | Queen's Bench |
| Q.C. | Queen's College, Queen's Council |
| Q.d. | (Quasi dicat) as if he should say; (Quasi dictum) as if said; (Quasi dixisset) as if he had said |
| Q.E. | (Quod est) which is |
| Q.E.D. | (Quod erat demonstrandum) which was to be proved |
| Q.E.F. | (Quod erat faciendum) which was to be done |
| Q.l. | (Quantum libet) as much as you please |
| Q. Mess. | Queen's Messenger |
| Qm. | (Quomodo) by what means, how |
| Q.p. or q. pl. | (Quantum placet) as much as you please |
| Qr. | Quarter |
| Q.S. | (Quantum sufficit) a sufficient quantity |
| Q.v. | (Quantum vis) as much as you will |
| Q.v. | (Quod vide) which see |
| Qy. | Query |
| R., | Reaum. Reaumur (thermometer) |
| R.A. | Royal Academy; Royal Academician; Royal Artillery |
| R.E. | Royal Engineers |
| Recd. | Received |
| Rect. | Rector |
| Ref. | Reformation, reformed |
| Ref. Ch. | Reformed Church |
| Ref. | Reference |
| Regr. | Registrar |
| Regt. | Regiment |
| Rel. pron. | Relative pronoun |
| Rep. | Representative |
| Repub. | Republican |
| R.M. | Royal Marines |
| R.N. | Royal Navy |
| Ro. | (Recto) Right-hand page |
| Rom. Cath. | Roman Catholic |
| R.P. | (Res Publica) Republic |
| Ru. | Runic |
| S. | Solo (In Italian Music); South |
| S. SS. | Section(s), Saint(s) |
| S.a. | (Secundum artem) According to Art |
| Sax. | Saxon |
| S.C. | (Senatus Consultum) A decree of the Senate |
| S.C. | (In Law) same case |
| Sch. | Schooner(s) |
| Schol. | (Scholium) a note |
| Sci. | Science |
| Sculp. | (Sculpsit) he engraved |
| S.E. | Southeast |
| Sen. | Senate, Senator |
| Seq. or sq. | (Sequente) and in what follows |
| Seqq. or sqq. | (Sequentibus) and in the following (places) |
| Ser. | Series |
| Shak. | Shakespeare |
| Sing. | Singular (number) |
| S.J.C. | Supreme Judicial Court |
| S. lat. | South latitude |
| S.O.S. | Marconi Distress Signal |
| S.P. | (Sine prole) without issue |
| Sp. gr. | Specific gravity |
| S.P.Q.R. | (Senatus Populusque Romanus) the Senate and the Roman people |
| S.R.I. | (Sacrum Romanum Imperium) The Holy Roman Empire |
| S.R.S. | (Societatis Regiæ Socius) Fellow of the Royal Society |
| S.S. | Sunday School |
| S.S.E. | South-southeast |
| S.S.W. | South-southwest |
| St. | Saint, Street |
| Stat. | Statute(s) |
| Ster. | Sterling |
| Subj. | Subjunctive |
| Subst. | Substantive |
| Su.-Goth. | Suio-Gothic |
| Super. | Superfine |
| Superl. | Superlative |
| S.W. | Southwest |
| T. | Tenor (in music); (Tutti) the whole orchestra after a solo |
| Ter. | Territory |
| Term. | Termination |
| Theor. | Theorem |
| Tr. | Translator, transpose |
| Um. | Unmarried |
| Univ. | University |
| U.S.A. | United States Army |
| U.S.M. | United States Mail |
| U.S.N. | United States Navy |
| U.S.S. | United States Ship |
| U.s. | (Ut supra) as above |
| Vat. | Vatican |
| V.a. | Verb active |
| V. aux. | Verb auxiliary |
| V. def. | Verb defective |
| V. dep. | Verb deponent |
| Ven. | Venerable |
| V.g. | (Verbi gratia) for example |
| V. imp. | Verb impersonal |
| V. in. | Verb intransitive |
| V. irr. | Verb irregular |
| V.n. | Verb neuter |
| Vo. | (verso) left-hand page |
| Voc. | Vocative |
| Vol. | Volume |
| V.r. | Verb reflexive |
| V. tr. | Verb transitive |
| V. | Vulgate (Version) |
| W. | West, wife |
| W. lon. | West longitude |
| W.N.W. | West-northwest |
| W.S.W. | West-southwest |
| Xmas | Christmas |
| Zool. | Zoology |