Abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or a phrase. Some abbreviations include only initial letters of a word, as when Feb. stands for February. Other abbreviations use first and last letters, as when VT stands for Vermont. Key letters in a word or phrase may also be used, as when LOL stands for laughing out loud.
Abbreviations save space. They are used in tables, in technical and scientific material, and in indexes, footnotes, and bibliographies. They are also used instead of long official names, as in AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations). Abbreviations called acronyms are words made up of the first letters or syllables of other words, such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Such abbreviations are often written without periods. Symbols that are not made up of letters of the alphabet are not abbreviations, but they serve the same purpose abbreviations do (see Symbol).
Abbreviations have been found on the earliest known tombs, monuments, and coins. When manuscripts were written by hand, abbreviations were used to save time and space. Many Latin abbreviations are still used.
Many World Book articles contain abbreviations in lists, tables, picture credits, and captions. Abbreviations are also used to a limited extent in the text of articles. This article includes a table of abbreviations commonly used in published works. Other categories of abbreviations can be found in the following World Book articles:
Canadian provinces.
Abbreviations are given in the Canada article in the table The provinces and territories of Canada.
College degrees.
Some common abbreviations can be found in the article Degree, College.
New Deal agencies.
Abbreviations for leading New Deal agencies are in a table in the article New Deal.
Proofreading.
The most common abbreviations and marks used by proofreaders are in a table in the article Proofreading.
States.
Abbreviations for the states are in a table with the article United States.
United Nations.
Abbreviations for United Nations agencies and committees are given in the table The United Nations system with the article United Nations.
Weights and measures.
Abbreviations can be found in tables with the article Weights and measures.
