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Word Traveler: Abbreviations in Dictionaries 
This feature is for all word lovers as well as those studying for the SAT and seeking to learn new vocabulary.
In order for print dictionaries to include as much information as possible, certain elements must be abbreviated. These elements include parts of speech (adjective, adverb, noun, verb, etc.) and labels (for languages like French, for geography like Britain, for subject like medical, for register or style like colloquial, trademark). Learners' dictionaries can include many grammatical notations not found in other dictionaries. Some dictionaries also use symbols like the arrow, open box, equals sign, tilde, slash or solidus, and parentheses to indicate things in a briefer way.
Some common dictionary abbreviations include:
| A & M | Agricultural and Mechanical |
| A.D. | anno Domini |
| ab | about |
| abbr | abbreviation |
| abl | ablative |
| absol | absolute, absolutely |
| acc | accusative |
| act | active |
| adj | adjective |
| adv | adverb |
| AF | Anglo-French |
| AFB | Air Force Base |
| Afr | Africa |
| Afrik | Afrikaans |
| Agric | Agriculture |
| Alb | Albanian, Albania |
| alt | altitude |
| alter | alteration |
| Am, Amer | America, American |
| AmerF | American French |
| AmerInd | American Indian |
| AmerSp | American Spanish |
| AN | Anglo-Norman |
| anat | anatomy |
| anc | ancient, anciently |
| angl | anglicized |
| ant | antonym |
| anthrop | anthropology |
| apos | apostrophe |
| approx | approximate, approximately |
| Ar | Arabic |
| Arab | Arabian, Arabic |
| Aram | Aramaic |
| arch | archaic |
| archaeol | archaeology |
| archit | architecture |
| Argen | Argentine |
| Arm | Armenian |
| art | article |
| AS | Anglo-Saxon |
| assoc | association |
| Assyr | Assyrian |
| astron, astr | astronomy |
| attrib | attributive, attributively |
| atty | attorney |
| aug | augmentative |
| Austral | Australian |
| av | average |
| AV | Authorized Version |
| Av | Avestan |
| b | born |
| B.C. | before Christ; British Columbia |
| Bab | Babylonian |
| bacteriol | bacteriology |
| bef | before |
| Belg | Belgian, Belgium |
| Beng | Bengali |
| bet | between |
| bib | biblical |
| bibliog | bibliography |
| biochem | biochemistry |
| biol | biology |
| bot | botany |
| Braz | Brazilian |
| Bret | Breton |
| Brit | Britain, British |
| Bulg | Bulgarian, Bulgaria |
| C | centigrade; College |
| c | century |
| ca, c | circa |
| Canad, Can | Canadian, Canada |
| CanF | Canadian French |
| Cant | Cantonese |
| cap | capital, capitalized |
| Catal | Catalan |
| caus | causative |
| Celt | Celtic |
| cen | center, central |
| cent | century |
| Ch | Church |
| chem | chemistry, chemical |
| Chin | Chinese |
| class | classical |
| co(s) | county (counties) |
| Col | Columbia, Colossians |
| coll | college |
| collect | collective, collectively |
| colloq | colloquial, colloquially |
| comb | combining, combination |
| compar | comparative |
| conj | conjugation; conjunction |
| constr | construction |
| contr | contraction |
| cook | cookery |
| Copt | Coptic |
| Cor | Corinthians |
| Corn | Cornish |
| criminol | criminology |
| Croat | Croatian |
| cu | cubic |
| d | died |
| D, Du | Dutch |
| Dan | Danish; Daniel |
| dat | dative |
| def | definite |
| Den | Denmark |
| dept | department |
| deriv | derivative |
| derog | derogatory |
| Deut | Deuteronomy |
| dial | dialect |
| dim | diminutive |
| disc | discovered |
| dist | district |
| div | division |
| Dom Rep | Dominican Republic |
| Dor | Doric |
| dram | drama |
| dyn | dynamics |
| e | eastern |
| e | estimate |
| E | east, eastern; English |
| e.g. | exempli gratia (for example) |
| eccl | ecclesiastical |
| econ | economics |
| Ed | Education |
| EE | Early English |
| EGmc | East Germanic |
| Egypt | Egyptian |
| elec | electrical |
| emp | emperor |
| Eng | England, English |
| equiv | equivalent |
| Esk | Eskimo |
| esp | especially |
| est | estimated, estimate |
| estab | established |
| et al. | et alii (and others) |
| etc | et cetera (and so forth) |
| Eth | Ethiopic |
| ethnol | ethnology |
| exc | except |
| excl | excludes, excluding, exclusive |
| exclam | exclamation |
| f | founded |
| F | French; Fahrenheit |
| Fahr | Fahrenheit |
| fam | family |
| fed | federation |
| fem, f | feminine |
| ff | following |
| fig | figurative, figuratively |
| Fin | Finland |
| Finn | Finnish |
| fl | flourished |
| Flem, Fl | Flemish |
| form | former, formerly |
| fr | from |
| Fr | France, French |
| fr | from |
| freq | frequentative |
| Fris | Frisian |
| ft | feet, foot |
| fut | future |
| G | German |
| Gael | Gaelic |
| gen | general; genitive |
| geog | geography |
| geol | geology |
| geom | geometry |
| Ger | German, Germany |
| Gk, Gr | Greek |
| Gmc | Germanic |
| Goth | Gothic |
| gov | governor |
| govt | government |
| Gr Brit | Great Britain |
| gram | grammar |
| Heb | Hebrew |
| her | heraldry |
| Hind | Hindustani |
| hist | history |
| Hitt | Hittie |
| Hon | Honduras |
| hort | horticulture |
| Hung | Hungarian, Hungary |
| I | Indian |
| I | island |
| i.e. | id est (that is) |
| Icel | Icelandic |
| IE | Indo-European |
| imit | imitative |
| imper | imperative |
| in | inch |
| incho | inchoative |
| incl | included, includes, including |
| incorp | incorporated |
| Ind | India, Indian |
| indef | indefinite |
| indep | independent |
| indic | indicative |
| infin | infinitive |
| inst | institute, institution |
| instr | instrumental |
| intens | intensive |
| interj | interjection |
| interrog | interrogative |
| Ion | Ionic |
| Ir | Irish |
| Ire | Ireland |
| IrGael | Irish Gaelic |
| irreg | irregular |
| ISV | International Scientific Vocabulary |
| It, Ital | Italian, Italy |
| ital | italic |
| Jav | Javanese |
| joc | jocular, jocularly |
| Jp | Japanese, Japan |
| L | Latin |
| LaF | Louisiana French |
| lat | latitude |
| Lat | Latin |
| LG | Low German |
| LGk | Late Greek |
| LHeb | Late Hebrew |
| lit | literally; literary |
| Lith | Lithuanian, Lithuania |
| liturg | liturgical, liturgy |
| LL | Late Latin |
| long | longitude |
| m | meters; mile; masculine |
| manuf | manufacturer |
| masc | masculine |
| math | mathematician |
| max | maximum |
| MBret | Middle Breton |
| MD | Middle Dutch |
| ME | Middle English |
| Mech | Mechanical |
| mech | mechanics |
| Med | Medical |
| med | medicine |
| Medit | Mediterranean |
| met | metropolitan |
| meteor | meteorology |
| Mex | Mexican; Mexico |
| MexSp | Mexican Spanish |
| MF | Middle French |
| MFlem | Middle Flemish |
| mfr | manufacture |
| MGk | Middle Greek |
| MHG | Middle High German |
| mi | miles |
| mil | military |
| MIr | Middle Irish |
| ML | Medieval Latin |
| MLG | Middle Low German |
| mod | modern |
| ModE | Modern English |
| modif | modification |
| Mongol | Mongolian |
| MPer | Middle Persian |
| MS | manuscript(s) |
| mt | mount, mountain |
| munic | municipal |
| mus | music |
| MW | Middle Welsh |
| myth | mythology |
| N | north, northern |
| n | northern; noun |
| n pl | noun plural |
| naut | nautical |
| NE | New England |
| Neth | Netherlands |
| neut, n | neuter |
| NewEng | New England |
| NewZeal | New Zealand |
| NGk | New Greek |
| NGmc | North Germanic |
| NHeb | New Hebrew |
| NL | New Latin |
| nom | nominative |
| nonstand | nonstandard |
| Norw | Norwegian, Norway |
| nr | near |
| NT | New Testament |
| NZ | New Zealand |
| obs | obsolete |
| OCatal | Old Catalan |
| occas | occasionally, occasional |
| OE | Old English |
| OF | Old French |
| off | official |
| OFris | Old Frisian |
| OGael | Old Gaelic |
| OHG | Old High German |
| OIr | Old Irish |
| OIt | Old Italian |
| OL | Old Latin |
| ON | Old Norse |
| ONF | Old North French |
| Ont | Ontario |
| OPer | Old Persian |
| OPg | Old Portuguese |
| opp | opposite |
| OProv | Old Provençal |
| OPruss | Old Prussian |
| org | organized |
| orig | original, originally |
| ornith | ornithology |
| ORuss | Old Russian |
| OS | Old Saxon |
| OSlav | Old Slavic |
| OSp | Old Spanish |
| OT | Old Testament |
| OW | Old Welsh |
| p | page |
| PaG | Pennsylvania German |
| part, partic | participle |
| pass | passive |
| path | pathology |
| Pek | Pekingese |
| Per, Pers | Persian |
| perf | perfect |
| perh | perhaps |
| pers | person |
| Pg | Portuguese |
| Phil | Philippines |
| philos | philosophy |
| PhilSp | Philippine Spanish |
| photog | photography |
| phys | physics, physical |
| physiol | physiology |
| pl | plural |
| poet | poetical |
| Pol | Polish, Poland |
| polit | political, politician |
| pop | population |
| Port | Portuguese, Portugal |
| pp | past participle; pages |
| PR | Puerto Rico |
| prec | preceding |
| predic | predictive, predicatively |
| prep | preposition |
| pres | present; president |
| prob | probably |
| pron | pronoun; pronunciation, pronounced |
| pronunc | pronunciation |
| propr | proprietary |
| Prov | Provençal |
| prp | present participle |
| Pruss | Prussian |
| pseud | pseudonym |
| psychol | psychology |
| pt | past tense |
| pub | published |
| qqv, qv | quod vide (which see) |
| R.C. or RC | Roman Catholic |
| redupl | reduplication |
| refl | reflexive |
| rel | relative |
| relig | religion |
| resp | respectively |
| rev | revolution |
| rhet | rhetoric, rhetorical |
| riv | river |
| Rom | Roman; Romanian, Romania |
| RSV | Revised Standard Version |
| Rum | Rumanian |
| Russ | Russian |
| S | south, southern |
| S Afr | South Africa, South African |
| S Amer | South America, South American |
| Sc | Scotch, Scots |
| Scand, Scan | Scandinavian |
| ScGael | Scottish Gaelic |
| Sch | School |
| sci | science |
| Scot, Sc | Scotland, Scottish |
| Scrip | Scripture |
| secy | secretary |
| Sem | Seminary, Semitic |
| Serb | Serbian |
| Shak | Shakespeare |
| sig | signature |
| sing | singular |
| Skt | Sanskrit |
| Slav | Slavic |
| So Afr | South Africa, South African |
| sociol | sociology |
| Sp, Span | Spanish |
| specif, spec | specifically |
| spp | species |
| St | Saint |
| Ste | Sainte |
| subj | subjunctive |
| substand | substandard |
| superl | superlative |
| Sw, Swed | Swedish |
| Switz | Switzerland |
| syn | synonym, synonymy |
| Syr | Syriac |
| Tag | Tagalog |
| Tasm | Tasmania |
| Tech | Technology |
| techn | technical |
| theat | theatre/theater |
| theol | theology |
| Theol | Theological |
| Toch | Tocharian |
| trans | translation |
| treas | treasury |
| Turk | Turkish |
| U | University |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| Ukrain | Ukrainian |
| univ | university |
| US | United States, America, American |
| USA | United States of America |
| USSR | Union of Soviet Socialist Republic |
| usu | usually, usual |
| v, vb | verb |
| var | variant |
| Ven | Venezuela |
| vi | verb intransitive |
| VL | Vulgar Latin |
| voc | vocative |
| vt | verb transitive |
| W | Welsh; west, western |
| WGmc | West Germanic |
| zool | zoology |