abbreviation

Also known as abbreviations, abbrev.

thumb|upright=1.5|Example of 15th-century Latin manuscript text with [[scribal abbreviations]]

AI overview

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase used in writing, such as "Dr." for "Doctor" or "etc." for "et cetera." Abbreviations matter because they save time and space when writing, a practice that has been used for centuries, including in medieval manuscripts where scribes developed their own shorthand systems.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

11,163 papers

Abbreviation use decreases effective clinical communication and can compromise patient safety.ReviewThe British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery · 2023Parry D, Odedra A, Fagbohun M et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2023.07.004
Consensus nomenclature and abbreviation for anti-synthetase syndrome: an IMACS project.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Aggarwal A, Chandra T, Keret S et al.DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf229
"Abbreviation Arrangement" Syndromes, i.e., Names and Natures Do Often Disagree.JMA journal · 2022Sadohara MDOI: 10.31662/jmaj.2021-0209
Heterogeneity in nomenclature and abbreviation usage for anti-synthetase syndrome: a scoping review.Rheumatology international · 2024Aggarwal A, Chandra T, Ladha P et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00296-024-05670-w
The art of abbreviation (TAOA).Medical teacher · 2023Moustafa KDOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2023.2240481
Fasting abbreviation among patients submitted to oncologic surgery: systematic review.Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery · 2015Pinto Ados S, Grigoletti SS, Marcadenti ADOI: 10.1590/S0102-67202015000100018
Confusing terminology used in the abbreviation of pharmacy journal names.Research in social & administrative pharmacy : RSAP · 2022Fernandez-Llimos F, Mendes AM, Tonin FSDOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.01.003
MCOLN1/TRPML1 finely controls oncogenic autophagy in cancer by mediating zinc influx.Autophagy · 2021Qi J, Xing Y, Liu Y et al.DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2021.1917132

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Wikidata facts

Image: Abreviatures.png

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Commons category: Abbreviation
exact match: www.lexinfo.net/ontology/2.0/lexinfo#abbreviation
P13411: January 19

Sources (10)

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~23 min read

Article

22 sections

Contents

Types
History
Style conventions in English
Capitalization
Full Stops (Periods)
Plural
Conventions followed by publications and newspapers
United States
United Kingdom
Miscellaneous and general rules
Measurements: abbreviations or symbols
Syllabic abbreviation
English
Albanian
German
Russian
Spanish
Malay and Indonesian
Chinese and Japanese kanji
See also
Notes
References

thumb|upright=1.5|Example of 15th-century Latin manuscript text with [[scribal abbreviations]]

An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing full stop (period). For example, the term etc. is the usual abbreviation for the Latin phrase .