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<span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Full points (periods)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Full_points_(periods)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Expanded_forms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Expanded_forms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Expanded forms</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Expanded_forms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Acronyms" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Acronyms"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Acronyms</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Acronyms-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Acronyms subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Acronyms-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Terminology" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Terminology"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Terminology</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Terminology-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Formation_and_usage" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Formation_and_usage"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Formation and usage</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Formation_and_usage-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Exceptions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Exceptions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Exceptions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Exceptions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Ship_names" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ship_names"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3.1</span> <span>Ship names</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ship_names-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Time_zones" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Time_zones"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3.2</span> <span>Time zones</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Time_zones-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Countries_and_multinational_unions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Countries_and_multinational_unions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3.3</span> <span>Countries and multinational unions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Countries_and_multinational_unions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3.4</span> <span>Other</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Acronyms_in_page_titles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Acronyms_in_page_titles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4</span> <span>Acronyms in page titles</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Acronyms_in_page_titles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Acronyms_as_disambiguators" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Acronyms_as_disambiguators"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.5</span> <span>Acronyms as disambiguators</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Acronyms_as_disambiguators-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Acronyms_in_category_names" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Acronyms_in_category_names"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.6</span> <span>Acronyms in category names</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Acronyms_in_category_names-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Contractions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Contractions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Contractions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Contractions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Initials" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Initials"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Initials</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Initials-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Shortenings" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Shortenings"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Shortenings</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Shortenings-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Shortenings subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Shortenings-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Songwriting_credits" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Songwriting_credits"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span>Songwriting credits</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Songwriting_credits-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Miscellaneous_shortenings" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Miscellaneous_shortenings"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.2</span> <span>Miscellaneous shortenings</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Miscellaneous_shortenings-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Symbols" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Symbols"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Symbols</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Symbols-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Symbols subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Symbols-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Unit_symbols" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Unit_symbols"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.1</span> <span>Unit symbols</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Unit_symbols-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Miscellaneous_symbols" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Miscellaneous_symbols"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.2</span> <span>Miscellaneous symbols</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Miscellaneous_symbols-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.3</span> <span>Unicode abbreviation ligatures</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Latinisms_and_abbreviations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Latinisms_and_abbreviations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Latinisms and abbreviations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Latinisms_and_abbreviations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Abbreviations widely used in Wikipedia</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Special_considerations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Special_considerations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>Special considerations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Special_considerations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label 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class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Style guide for the use of abbreviations</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For a directory of all the abbreviations used on Wikipedia, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_abbreviations" title="Wikipedia:Wikipedia abbreviations">Wikipedia:Wikipedia abbreviations</a>.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For abbreviated redirects to non-main namespaces, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_shortcuts" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:List of shortcuts">Wikipedia:List of shortcuts</a>.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For abbreviations used by Wikipedians in discussion on talk pages and other non-article pages, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Glossary" title="Wikipedia:Glossary">Wikipedia:Glossary</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238436933">.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--color-base,#202122)}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ombox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ombox-content{border:1px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ombox-style{border:1px 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.ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}</style><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Blue_check.svg/30px-Blue_check.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="30" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Blue_check.svg/45px-Blue_check.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Blue_check.svg/60px-Blue_check.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="600"/></span></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><div style="padding-top: 6px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b>This <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines#guide" title="Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines">guideline</a> is a part of the English Wikipedia's <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Manual of Style</a>.</b><br/><div style="font-size: 90%;"> It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Ignore_all_rules" title="Wikipedia:Ignore all rules">occasional exceptions</a> may apply. Any <i>substantive</i> edit to this page should reflect <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus" title="Wikipedia:Consensus">consensus</a>. 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.sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks hlist"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Manual of Style (MoS)</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><div class="mw-inputbox-centered" style=""><form name="searchbox" class="searchbox mw-inputbox-form" action="/wiki/Special:Search" id="style-searchbox"><div class="cdx-text-input"><input class="mw-inputbox-input mw-searchInput searchboxInput cdx-text-input__input" name="search" placeholder="" size="25" dir="ltr"/></div><input type="hidden" value="Wikipedia:Manual of Style" name="prefix"/><br/><input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search the MoS" class="cdx-button"/><input type="hidden" value="Search" name="fulltext"/></form></div></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(content)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (content)">Content</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Accessibility" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biography" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography">Biography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Disambiguation_pages" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages">Disambiguation pages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Organizing_disambiguation_pages_by_subject_area" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Organizing disambiguation pages by subject area">Organizing by subject</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Gender_identity" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Gender identity">Gender identity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Hidden_text" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Hidden text">Hidden text</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Infoboxes" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Infoboxes">Infoboxes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Linking" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Linking">Linking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Self-references_to_avoid" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid">Self-references</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch">Words to watch</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(formatting)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (formatting)">Formatting</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Abbreviations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters">Capitalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers">Dates and numbers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Pronunciation" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation">Pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Spelling" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Spelling">Spelling</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Text_formatting" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting">Text formatting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Titles_of_works" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles of works">Titles of works</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(images)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (images)">Images</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Captions" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Captions">Captions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Image_use_policy#Adding_images_to_articles" title="Wikipedia:Image use policy">Image placement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Icons" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Icons">Icons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Images" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Images">Images</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(layout)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (layout)">Layout</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Layout" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Layout">Layout</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lead_section" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section">Lead section</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Tables" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Tables">Tables</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Trivia_sections" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trivia sections">Trivia sections</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(lists)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (lists)">Lists</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists_of_works" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists of works">Lists of works</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Road_junction_lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Road junction lists">Road junctions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Stand-alone_lists" title="Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists">Stand-alone lists</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)">By topic area</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(legal)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (legal)">Legal</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Legal" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Legal">Legal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Trademarks" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trademarks">Trademarks</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(arts)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (arts)">Arts</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Anime_and_manga" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Anime and manga">Anime and manga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Comics" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Comics">Comics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Film" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Film">Film</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lyrics_and_poetry" title="Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry">Lyrics and poetry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Novels" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Novels">Novels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Television" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Television">Television</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Video_games" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Video games">Video games</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Visual_arts" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Visual arts">Visual arts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Writing_about_fiction" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction">Writing about fiction</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(music)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (music)">Music</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Music" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Music_samples" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music samples">Music samples</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Record_charts" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Record charts">Record charts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Stringed_instrument_tunings" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Stringed instrument tunings">Stringed instruments</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(history)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (history)">History</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Blazon" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Blazon">Blazons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Military_history" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Military history">Military history</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(regional)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (regional)">Regional</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(geographic_names)#Specific_topics" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)">Specific naming conventions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Canada-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Canada-related articles">Canada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/China-_and_Chinese-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/China- and Chinese-related articles">China (and Chinese)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Egypt-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Egypt-related articles">Egypt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/France-_and_French-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/France- and French-related articles">France (and French)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Hawaii-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Hawaii-related articles">Hawaii</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/India-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/India-related articles">India</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Indonesia-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Indonesia-related articles">Indonesia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Ireland-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Ireland-related articles">Ireland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Japan-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Japan-related articles">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Korea-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Korea-related articles">Korea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Macedonia)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Macedonia)">Macedonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Malaysia-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Malaysia-related articles">Malaysia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Pakistan-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pakistan-related articles">Pakistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Philippines-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Philippines-related articles">Philippines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Poland-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Poland-related articles">Poland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Singapore-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Singapore-related articles">Singapore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Trinidad_and_Tobago/Style_guide" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Trinidad and Tobago/Style guide">Trinidad and Tobago</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(religion)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (religion)">Religion</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Islam-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Islam-related articles">Islam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Latter_Day_Saints" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Latter Day Saints">Latter Day Saints</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(science)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (science)">Science</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry">Chemistry</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Compound_classes" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Compound classes">Compound classes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Chemicals" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Chemicals">Chemicals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/References_and_external_links" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/References and external links">References and external links</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Safety" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Safety">Safety</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Structure_drawing" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Structure drawing">Structure drawing</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Computer_science" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Computer science">Computer science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Mathematics" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Mathematics">Mathematics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Medicine-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Medicine-related articles">Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Taxobox/doc" title="Template:Taxobox/doc">Taxonomy</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(sports)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (sports)">Sports</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Cue_sports" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Cue sports">Cue sports</a> (<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Snooker" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Snooker">Snooker</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Figure_skating" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Figure skating">Figure skating</a> (<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Figure_skating_terminology" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Figure skating terminology">Terminology</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="background-color: #def; color:black; padding-left: 2px;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(related_guidelines)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (related guidelines)">Related guidelines</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_size" title="Wikipedia:Article size">Article size</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles" title="Wikipedia:Article titles">Article titles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_navigation_templates" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates">Categories, lists, and navigation templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorization" title="Wikipedia:Categorization">Categorization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Hatnote" title="Wikipedia:Hatnote">Hatnotes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Subpages" title="Wikipedia:Subpages">Subpages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Make_technical_articles_understandable" title="Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable">Understandability</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Simplified_Manual_of_Style" title="Wikipedia:Simplified Manual of Style">Overview</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Contents" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Contents">Contents</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Styletips" title="Wikipedia:Styletips">Tips</a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Style" title="Template:Style"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Style" title="Template talk:Style"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Style" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Style"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>This guideline covers the use of <a href="/wiki/Abbreviation" title="Abbreviation">abbreviations</a>—including <a href="/wiki/Acronym" title="Acronym">acronyms and initialisms</a>, <a href="/wiki/Contraction_(grammar)" title="Contraction (grammar)">contractions</a>, and other <a href="/wiki/Shortening_(grammar)" class="mw-redirect" title="Shortening (grammar)">shortenings</a>—in the <a href="/wiki/English_Wikipedia" title="English Wikipedia">English Wikipedia</a>. </p><p>Maintaining a consistent abbreviation style allows Wikipedia to be read, written, edited, and navigated more easily by readers and editors. The style should always be consistent within a page. If a guideline conflicts with the correct usage of a <a href="/wiki/Proper_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Proper name">proper name</a>, ignore it. Abbreviations in quotations from written sources should always be written <em>exactly</em> as in the source, unless it is a Wikipedia-made translation. </p><p>Always consider whether it is better to write a word or phrase out in full, thus avoiding potential confusion for those not familiar with its abbreviation. Remember that Wikipedia does not have the same space constraints as paper. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc"/> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Use_sourceable_abbreviations" data-mw-thread-id="h-Use_sourceable_abbreviations"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Use_sourceable_abbreviations"></span>Use sourceable abbreviations<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Use_sourceable_abbreviations"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Use sourceable abbreviations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:SOURCEABBR"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:SOURCEABBR&redirect=no">MOS:SOURCEABBR</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Avoid <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research">making up</a> new abbreviations, especially acronyms. For example, "<span class="example example-neutral" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif;"><a href="/wiki/International_Feline_Federation" class="mw-redirect" title="International Feline Federation">International Feline Federation</a></span>" is good as a <em>translation</em> of <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">Fédération Internationale Féline</span>, but neither the anglicisation nor the reduction <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">IFF</span> is used by the organisation; use the original name and its official abbreviation, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">FIFe</span>. </p><p>If it is necessary to abbreviate in small spaces (<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Infoboxes" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Infoboxes">infoboxes</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Navigation_templates" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Navigation templates">navboxes</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Tables" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Tables">tables</a>), use widely recognised abbreviations. As an example, for <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">New Zealand gross national product</span>, use <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">NZ</span> and <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">GNP</span>, with a link if the term has not already been written out: <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">NZ <a href="/wiki/Measures_of_national_income_and_output" title="Measures of national income and output">GNP</a></span>; do not use the made-up initialism <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">NZGNP</span>). </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For shortening long titles of works, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Titles#Abbreviation_of_long_titles" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles">Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles § Abbreviation of long titles</a>.</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Full_points_(periods)" data-mw-thread-id="h-Full_points_(periods)"><span id="Full_points_.28periods.29"></span><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Full_points_(periods)"></span>Full points (periods)<span id="POINTS"></span><span data-mw-comment-end="h-Full_points_(periods)"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Full points (periods)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/MOS:COMMONABBR" class="mw-redirect" title="MOS:COMMONABBR">MOS:COMMONABBR</a></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Full_points"></span><span class="anchor" id="Periods"></span><span class="anchor" id="STOPS"></span><span class="anchor" id="Full_stops_(periods)"></span> </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:POINTS"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:POINTS&redirect=no">MOS:POINTS</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Modern style is to use a <a href="/wiki/Full_point" class="mw-redirect" title="Full point">full point</a> (period) after a shortening <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1033199720">.mw-parser-output div.crossreference{padding-left:0}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><span role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable crossreference selfref">(see <a href="#Shortenings">§ Shortenings</a> for exceptions)</span> but no full points within an acronym or initialism. In the unusual case of an acronym containing full points between letters, it should also have a full point after the final letter. If an abbreviation ending in a full point ends a sentence, do not use an extra full point (e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">They lived near Courtyard Sq.</span>, not <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">They lived near Courtyard Sq..</span>). </p><p>Contractions that contain an apostrophe (<span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">don't</span>, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">shouldn't</span>, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">she'd</span>) never take a period, except at the end of a sentence. They are also not used in encyclopedia content except in quotations or titles of works, as noted <a href="#Contractions">below</a>. Contractions that do not contain an apostrophe almost always take a period in North American English, but not in British English when the contraction ends with the same letter as the full term: <i>Doctor</i> can be abbreviated <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">Dr.</span> in American and Canadian English, but is <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">Dr</span> in British English. If the dot-less usage could be confusing in the context, use the point. Exceptions are symbols of units of measurement, which never use periods <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1033199720"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><span role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable crossreference selfref">(see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers">WP:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers</a>)</span>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Expanded_forms" data-mw-thread-id="h-Expanded_forms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Expanded_forms"></span>Expanded forms<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Expanded_forms"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Expanded forms"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:EXPABBR"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:EXPABBR&redirect=no">MOS:EXPABBR</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Do not apply initial capitals or other forms of emphasis to common-noun phrases just because capitals are used when abbreviating them: </p> <ul><li><i>Incorrect (not a proper name)</i>: <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">uses Digital Scanning (DS) technology</span></li> <li><i>Correct</i>: <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">uses digital scanning (DS) technology</span></li> <li><i>Correct (proper name)</i>: <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)</span></li></ul> <p>Similarly, when showing the source of an <a href="/wiki/Acronym" title="Acronym">acronym</a>, <a href="/wiki/Initialism" class="mw-redirect" title="Initialism">initialism</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Abbreviation#Syllabic_abbreviation" title="Abbreviation">syllabic abbreviation</a>, emphasizing the letters in the expansion that make up the acronym is unnecessary and potentially distracting: </p> <ul><li><i>Incorrect</i>: <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">FOREX (FOReign EXchange)</span></li> <li><i>Incorrect</i>: <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">FOREX (<i>for</i>eign <i>ex</i>change)</span></li> <li><i>Incorrect</i>: <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">FOREX (<b>for</b>eign <b>ex</b>change)</span></li> <li><i>Correct</i>: <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">FOREX (foreign exchange)</span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Acronyms" data-mw-thread-id="h-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Acronyms"></span>Acronyms<span id="Acronyms_and_initialisms"></span><span data-mw-comment-end="h-Acronyms"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Acronyms"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:ACRO"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:ACRO&redirect=no">MOS:ACRO</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Acronyms are abbreviations formed, usually, from the initial letters of words in a phrase. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Terminology" data-mw-thread-id="h-Terminology-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Terminology-Acronyms"></span>Terminology<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Terminology-Acronyms"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Terminology"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>An <i>initialism</i> is an abbreviation formed from some or all of the initial letters of words in a phrase. An <i>acronym</i> is sometimes considered to be an initialism that is pronounced as a word (e.g. <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a>), as distinct from an initialism pronounced as a string of individual letters (e.g. "UN" for <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>). In this document the term <i>acronym</i> includes initialisms. The term <i>word acronym</i> can be used to refer to acronyms which are not initialisms. </p><p>Do not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Edit_war" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Edit war">edit-war</a> over these terms. When using more precise terms like <i>word acronym</i> and <i>initialism</i>, please link to <a href="/wiki/Acronym#Nomenclature" title="Acronym">Acronym § Nomenclature</a>, where they are explained for readers. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Formation_and_usage" data-mw-thread-id="h-Formation_and_usage-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Formation_and_usage-Acronyms"></span>Formation and usage<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Formation_and_usage-Acronyms"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Formation and usage"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><b>Capitalisation</b>: Some acronyms are written with all capital letters, some with a mixture of capitals and lower-case letters and some are written as <a href="/wiki/Common_noun" class="mw-redirect" title="Common noun">common nouns</a> (e.g., <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">laser</span>). Acronyms of letters that are pronounced individually (initialisms) are always written in capitals (e.g., <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">FBI</span>). (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1033199720"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><span role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable crossreference selfref">For more guidance on the capitalisation of acronyms, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters#Acronyms" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters">Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Acronyms</a>.</span>)</li> <li><b>Spacing</b>: The letters of acronyms should not be spaced.</li> <li><b>Plurals</b>: Plural acronyms are written with a lower-case <i>s</i> after the abbreviation, without an apostrophe, unless full points are used between the letters (e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">ABCs</span> or <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">A.B.C.'s</span>). Note that Wikipedia generally avoids using full point in upper-case acronyms.</li> <li><b>Emphasis</b>: Do not apply special style, such as <span class="smallcaps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;">SMALL CAPS</span></span>, to acronyms. Do not apply italics, boldfacing, underlining, or other highlighting to the letters in the expansion of an acronym that correspond to the letters in the acronym, as in <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">BX (<i><b>B</b></i>ase E<i><b>x</b></i>change)</span>. It is not necessary to state that an acronym is an acronym. Our readers should not be browbeaten with the obvious.</li></ul> <p>If there is an article about the subject of an acronym (e.g. <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a>), then other articles should use the same style (capitalisation and punctuation) as that main article. If no such article exists, then style should be resolved by considering consistent usage in source material. </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:ACRO1STUSE"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:ACRO1STUSE&redirect=no">MOS:ACRO1STUSE</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="first-use"></span> Unless specified in the "<a href="#Exceptions">Exceptions</a>" section below, an acronym should be written out in full for the first time, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses, e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">maximum transmission unit (MTU)</span> if it is used again in the article. Common exceptions are <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biographies#Post-nominal_initials" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biographies">post-nominal initials</a>, because writing them out in full would cause clutter, or for something most commonly known by its acronym, in which case the expansion can be omitted (except in the lead of its own article) or be in parentheses—e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">according to the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)</span>. </p><p>To save space in small spaces (see <a href="#Use_sourceable_abbreviations">§ Use sourceable abbreviations</a>), acronyms do not need to be written out in full. When not written out in full on the first use, an acronym should be <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WIKILINK" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:WIKILINK">linked</a>. An unambiguous acronym can be linked as-is, but an ambiguous acronym should be linked to its expansion. Upon re-use in a long article, the template <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Abbr" title="Template:Abbr">abbr</a>}}</code> can be used to provide a mouse-over tooltip, giving the meaning of the acronym again without having to redundantly link or spell it out again. The template inserts a <abbr> tag into the page's HTML. Example: <span class="nowrap"><code>{{abbr|CIA|Central Intelligence Agency}}</code></span>, giving: <abbr title="Central Intelligence Agency">CIA</abbr>. (This mouse-over will not work on mobile devices, which represent the majority of Wikimedia traffic.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>) </p><p>For partial acronyms formed using the now-rare convention of including whole short words in them, do not blindly "normalise" them to typical current style, but write each as found in the majority of modern reliable sources. Examples: "Commander-in-Chief" is generally abbreviated <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">CinC</span> on its own, but may appear in all-caps when used in a longer acronym (especially a US government one) like <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">CINCFLEET</span> and <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">CINCAIR</span>. The Billiard Association of America was known as <span class="example example-neutral" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif;">BA of A</span>; while this should not be written as unsourceable variations like <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">BAofA</span> or <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">BAA</span>, the awkwardness of the abbreviation to modern eyes can be reduced by replacing the full-width spaces with thin-space characters: <code>BA{{thinsp}}of{{thinsp}}A</code> or <code>BA&thinsp;of&thinsp;A</code> gives <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">BA of A</span>, which better groups the letters into a unit. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Exceptions" data-mw-thread-id="h-Exceptions-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Exceptions-Acronyms"></span>Exceptions<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Exceptions-Acronyms"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Exceptions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Ship_names" data-mw-thread-id="h-Ship_names-Exceptions"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Ship_names-Exceptions"></span>Ship names<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Ship_names-Exceptions"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Ship names"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main page: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(ships)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ships)">Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ships)</a></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Ship_prefix" title="Ship prefix">Ship name prefixes</a> like <a href="/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Ship" class="mw-redirect" title="Her Majesty's Ship">HMS</a> and <a href="/wiki/United_States_Ship" title="United States Ship">USS</a> should not be written out in full. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Time_zones" data-mw-thread-id="h-Time_zones-Exceptions"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Time_zones-Exceptions"></span>Time zones<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Time_zones-Exceptions"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Time zones"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Abbreviations for time zones (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time" title="Greenwich Mean Time">GMT</a> and <a href="/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time" title="Coordinated Universal Time">UTC</a>) should not be written out in full after times. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Countries_and_multinational_unions" data-mw-thread-id="h-Countries_and_multinational_unions-Exceptions"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Countries_and_multinational_unions-Exceptions"></span>Countries and multinational unions<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Countries_and_multinational_unions-Exceptions"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Countries and multinational unions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For these commonly-referred-to entities, the name does not need to be written out in full on first use, nor provided on first use in parentheses after the full name if written out. </p> <table class="wikitable sortable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Acronym</th> <th>Expansion</th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td>EU</td> <td><a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a></td> <td>North Atlantic Treaty Organization</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>UAE</td> <td><a href="/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>UK</td> <td><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>UN</td> <td><a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a></td> <td>Similarly for UN organisations such as <a href="/wiki/UNESCO" title="UNESCO">UNESCO</a> and <a href="/wiki/UNICEF" title="UNICEF">UNICEF</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>US or U.S.</td> <td><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a></td> <td>Both variants are used, but avoid mixing dotted and undotted within the same article; use "US" in articles with other national abbreviations (e.g., "UK", "UAE", "USSR"). Using <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">United States</span> instead of an acronym is often better formal writing style, and is an <a href="/wiki/MOS:COMMONALITY" class="mw-redirect" title="MOS:COMMONALITY">opportunity for commonality</a>. <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">USA</span>, <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">U.S.A.</span> and <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">U.S. of A.</span> are generally not used except in quoted material <i>(see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#US_and_U.S." title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">WP:Manual of Style#US and U.S.</a>)</i>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>USSR</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Union_of_Soviet_Socialist_Republics" class="mw-redirect" title="Union of Soviet Socialist Republics">Union of Soviet Socialist Republics</a></td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Other" data-mw-thread-id="h-Other-Exceptions"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Other-Exceptions"></span>Other<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Other-Exceptions"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Other"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Acronyms in this table do not need to be written out in full upon first use, except in their own articles or where not doing so would cause ambiguity. </p> <table class="wikitable sortable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Acronym</th> <th>Expansion</th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td>AD</td> <td><i><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Anno_Domini" title="Anno Domini">anno Domini</a></i></span></i> ("in the year of our Lord")</td> <td>Should not be written out in full in dates and does not need to be linked. Do not use <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">in the year of our Lord</span> or any other translation of <i>Anno Domini</i>. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/AIDS" class="mw-redirect" title="AIDS">AIDS</a></td> <td>acquired immunodeficiency syndrome</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>a.k.a. or AKA</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Also_known_as" class="mw-redirect" title="Also known as">also known as</a></td> <td>Should only be used in small spaces, otherwise use the full phrase. It does not need to be linked. Use the <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:A.k.a." class="mw-redirect" title="Template:A.k.a.">a.k.a.</a>}}</code> template on first occurrence on the page to provide a mouse-over tooltip explaining the meaning: <abbr title="also known as">a.k.a.</abbr> Should not be written <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">aka</span>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>AM</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Amplitude_modulation" title="Amplitude modulation">amplitude modulation</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>am or a.m.</td> <td><i><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Ante_meridiem" class="mw-redirect" title="Ante meridiem">ante meridiem</a></i></span></i></td> <td>Should not be written out in full for clock time, and does not need to be linked. It should not be written <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">AM</span> or <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">A.M.</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a></td> <td>British Broadcasting Corporation</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>BC</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Before_Christ" class="mw-redirect" title="Before Christ">before Christ</a></td> <td>Should not be written out in full in dates and does not need to be linked. </td></tr> <tr> <td>BCE</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Before_Common_Era" class="mw-redirect" title="Before Common Era">Before Common Era</a></td> <td>Should not be written out in full in dates. </td></tr> <tr> <td>CD</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Compact_disc" title="Compact disc">compact disc</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>CE</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Common_Era" title="Common Era">Common Era</a></td> <td>Should not be written out in full in dates. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/DVD" title="DVD">DVD</a></td> <td>digital versatile disc<br/>(or digital video disc)</td> <td>Should not be written out in full and should not be linked to its expansion. </td></tr> <tr> <td>e.g.</td> <td><i><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Exempli_gratia" class="mw-redirect" title="Exempli gratia">exempli gratia</a></i></span></i> ("for example")</td> <td>Should not be italicised, linked, or written out in full in normal usage. </td></tr> <tr> <td>FM</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Frequency_modulation" title="Frequency modulation">frequency modulation</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/HDMI" title="HDMI">HDMI</a></td> <td>high-definition multimedia interface</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>HIV</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Human_immunodeficiency_virus" class="mw-redirect" title="Human immunodeficiency virus">human immunodeficiency virus</a></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>i.e.</td> <td><i><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Id_est" class="mw-redirect" title="Id est">id est</a></i></span></i> ("that is" / "in other words")</td> <td>Should not be italicised, linked, or written out in full in normal usage. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Laser" title="Laser">laser</a></td> <td>light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/LGBT" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT">LGBT</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Lesbian" title="Lesbian">Lesbian</a>, <a href="/wiki/Gay" title="Gay">gay</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bisexual" class="mw-redirect" title="Bisexual">bisexual</a>, <a href="/wiki/Transgender" title="Transgender">transgender</a></td> <td>Is considered to be intelligible on its own, without explanation. However, editors may add a <a href="/wiki/LGBT" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT">link</a> at their own discretion the first time the term appears in an article, to clarify any potential confusion. </td></tr> <tr> <td>n/a or N/A</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Not_applicable" class="mw-redirect" title="Not applicable">not applicable</a></td> <td>Should not be written <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">n.a.</span>, <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">N.A.</span>, <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">NA</span> or <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">na</span>. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a></td> <td>National Aeronautics and Space Administration</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>PC</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Personal_computer" title="Personal computer">personal computer</a></td> <td>Does not need to be written out in full on first use, nor provided on first use in parentheses after the full term if written out. </td></tr> <tr> <td>pm or p.m.</td> <td><i><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Post_meridiem" class="mw-redirect" title="Post meridiem">post meridiem</a></i></span></i></td> <td>Should not be written out in full in times and does not need to be linked. It should not be written <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">PM</span> or <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">P.M.</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Radar" title="Radar">radar</a></td> <td>radio detection and ranging</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Scuba_set" title="Scuba set">scuba</a></td> <td>self-contained underwater breathing apparatus</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Sonar" title="Sonar">sonar</a></td> <td>sound navigation and ranging</td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>TV</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Television" title="Television">television</a></td> <td>Generally use "TV" in most articles except historic articles and cultural or scholarly discussions, e.g. "TV show", "TV cameras", "the effects of television on speech patterns". Do not link or explain in normal usage. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/USB" title="USB">USB</a></td> <td>universal serial bus</td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Acronyms_in_page_titles" data-mw-thread-id="h-Acronyms_in_page_titles-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Acronyms_in_page_titles-Acronyms"></span>Acronyms in page titles<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Acronyms_in_page_titles-Acronyms"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Acronyms in page titles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles#Article_title_format" title="Wikipedia:Article titles">Wikipedia:Article titles § Article title format</a></div> <table style="float:right;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1232484023">.mw-parser-output .help-box{background:#f5faff;line-height:1.6em}.mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-title{background:#cee0f2;font-size:130%;padding-left:0.4em;padding-right:0.4em;margin-bottom:6px}.mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-heading{background:#cee0f2;padding:0.1em 0.7em 0.15em}.mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-content,.mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-content-with-subgroup{padding-top:0.15em}@media all and (min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .help-box{width:auto;max-width:22em}}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .help-box{background:#0d1a27}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-heading{background:#082849}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .help-box{background-color:#0d1a27}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .help-box .sidebar-heading{background:#082849}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks help-box noprint hlist" style="font-size:85%;width:23.0em;"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><span style="font-size:120%;"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles" title="Wikipedia:Article titles">Article titles</a></span></th></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> All naming conventions</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_naming_conventions" title="Category:Wikipedia naming conventions">Category:Wikipedia naming conventions</a></b></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Nature</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(fauna)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna)">Fauna (animals)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(flora)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (flora)">Flora (plants)</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <ul><li>Arts</li> <li>Entertainment</li> <li>Media</li></ul></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(books)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (books)">Books</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(broadcasting)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (broadcasting)">Broadcasting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(comics)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (comics)">Comics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(films)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (films)">Films</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(manuscripts)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (manuscripts)">Manuscripts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(music)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (music)">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(operas)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (operas)">Operas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(television)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (television)">Television</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(video_games)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (video games)">Video games</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Visual_arts#Article_titles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Visual arts">Visual arts</a></li></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(people)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)">People</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(clergy)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (clergy)">Clergy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(ethnicities_and_tribes)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ethnicities and tribes)">Ethnicities and tribes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(royalty_and_nobility)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)">Royalty and nobility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(sportspeople)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (sportspeople)">Sports</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(baseball_players)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (baseball players)">Baseball players</a></li></ul></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <ul><li>Science</li> <li>Technology</li> <li>Transport</li></ul></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(astronomical_objects)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (astronomical objects)">Astronomy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(chemistry)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (chemistry)">Chemistry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Medicine-related_articles#Article_titles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Medicine-related articles">Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(languages)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (languages)">Programming languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(aircraft)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (aircraft)">Aircraft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(ships)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ships)">Ships</a></li></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <ul><li>Government</li> <li>Politics</li> <li>Law</li></ul></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(government_and_legislation)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (government and legislation)">Government and legislation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Legal" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Legal">Legal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(political_parties)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (political parties)">Political parties</a></li></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Organizations</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(companies)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (companies)">Companies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Latter_Day_Saints)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Latter Day Saints)">Latter Day Saints</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(sports_teams)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (sports teams)">Sports teams</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <ul><li>Numbers</li> <li>Dates</li></ul></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(numbers_and_dates)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (numbers and dates)">Numbers and dates</a></li></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <ul><li>Places</li> <li>Events</li></ul></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(geographic_names)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)">Places</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(events)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (events)">Events</a></li></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <ul><li>Lists</li> <li>Categories</li></ul></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Category_names" title="Wikipedia:Category names">Categories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Stand-alone_lists#Naming_conventions" title="Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(long_lists)" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (long lists)">Long lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Stub_sorting/Naming_conventions" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Naming conventions">Stub sorting</a></li></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Language/country-specific</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(writing_systems)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (writing systems)">Writing systems</a></b></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(languages)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (languages)">All languages</a></b></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(country-specific_topics)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (country-specific topics)">All countries</a></b></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(ancient_Romans)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ancient Romans)">Ancient Roman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Armenian)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Armenian)">Armenian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(places_in_Bangladesh)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (places in Bangladesh)">Bangladesh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Burmese)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Burmese)">Burmese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Chinese)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Chinese)">Chinese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Germany/Conventions" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Germany/Conventions">German</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Greek)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Greek)">Greek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Hebrew)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Hebrew)">Hebrew</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Indic)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Indic)">Indic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(Ireland-related_articles)" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style (Ireland-related articles)">Irish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Japan-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Japan-related articles">Japanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Korean)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Korean)">Korean</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Macedonia)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Macedonia)">Macedonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Mongolian)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Mongolian)">Mongolian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(New_Zealand)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (New Zealand)">New Zealand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Norse_mythology)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Norse mythology)">Old Norse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Poland-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Poland-related articles">Polish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Romanization_of_Russian" title="Wikipedia:Romanization of Russian">Russian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Tibetan)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Tibetan)">Tibetan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Romanization_of_Ukrainian" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Romanization of Ukrainian">Ukrainian</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Formatting</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(capitalization)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (capitalization)">Capitalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(use_English)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English)">Use English</a></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(definite_or_indefinite_article_at_beginning_of_name)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite or indefinite article at beginning of name)">Definite or indefinite article at beginning of name</a></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(plurals)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (plurals)">Plurals</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#Acronyms_in_page_titles">Acronyms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(technical_restrictions)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions)">Technical restrictions</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Naming_conventions" title="Template:Naming conventions"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:Naming_conventions&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Template talk:Naming conventions (page does not exist)"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Naming_conventions" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Naming conventions"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="float:right;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:ACROTITLE"></span><span id="WP:NCA"></span><span id="WP:NCACRO"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:ACROTITLE&redirect=no">MOS:ACROTITLE</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:NCA&redirect=no">WP:NCA</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:NCACRO&redirect=no">WP:NCACRO</a></span></li></ul></div></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Acronyms should be used in a page name if the subject is known primarily by its abbreviation and that abbreviation is primarily associated with the subject (e.g. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>; in contrast, consensus has rejected moving <a href="/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency" title="Central Intelligence Agency">Central Intelligence Agency</a> to its acronym, in view of arguments that the full name is used in professional and academic publications). In general, if readers somewhat familiar with the subject are likely to only recognise the name by its acronym, then the acronym should be used as a title. If the acronym and the full name are both in common use, both pages should exist, with one (usually the abbreviation) redirecting to the other or being a disambiguation page. </p><p>One general exception to this rule deals with our strong preference for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:NATURAL" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:NATURAL">natural disambiguation</a>. Many acronyms are used for several things; naming a page with the full name helps to avoid clashes. For instance, multiple TV/radio broadcasting companies share the initials <a href="/wiki/ABC_(disambiguation)#Broadcasting" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="ABC (disambiguation)">ABC</a>; even though some may be far better known by that acronym, our articles on those companies are found at, for example, <a href="/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company" title="American Broadcasting Company">American Broadcasting Company</a> rather than <a href="/wiki/ABC_(American_TV_network)" class="mw-redirect" title="ABC (American TV network)">ABC (American TV network)</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A useful test to determine what an abbreviation usually refers to can be done by checking <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://acronymfinder.com/">Acronym Finder</a> or <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abbreviations.com/">Abbreviations.com</a> and finding the relative usage. If it is found that a particular subject is overwhelmingly denoted by an unambiguous acronym, the article title on that subject can be expressed as the acronym and a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Disambiguation" title="Wikipedia:Disambiguation">disambiguation</a> page can be used for the other subjects. </p><p>In many cases, no decision is necessary because a given acronym has several expansions, none of which is the most prominent. Under such circumstances, an article should be named with the spelled-out phrase and the acronym should be a disambiguation page providing descriptive links to all of them. See, for example, <a href="/wiki/Ajar_(disambiguation)#Publications" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Ajar (disambiguation)">AJAR</a>, which disambiguates between <i><a href="/wiki/African_Journal_of_AIDS_Research" title="African Journal of AIDS Research">African Journal of AIDS Research</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Australian_Journal_of_Agricultural_Research" class="mw-redirect" title="Australian Journal of Agricultural Research">Australian Journal of Agricultural Research</a></i>. A title like <a href="/w/index.php?title=AJAR_(African_journal)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="AJAR (African journal) (page does not exist)">AJAR (African journal)</a> should be avoided if at all possible. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Acronyms_as_disambiguators" data-mw-thread-id="h-Acronyms_as_disambiguators-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Acronyms_as_disambiguators-Acronyms"></span>Acronyms as disambiguators<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Acronyms_as_disambiguators-Acronyms"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Acronyms as disambiguators"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:ACRODAB"></span><span id="WP:ACRODAB"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:ACRODAB&redirect=no">MOS:ACRODAB</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:ACRODAB&redirect=no">WP:ACRODAB</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main page: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#US_and_U.S." title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Wikipedia:Manual of Style § US and U.S.</a></div> <p>To save space, acronyms should be used as disambiguators, when necessary. For example, "<a href="/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)" title="Georgia (U.S. state)">Georgia (U.S. state)</a>", "<a href="/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.)" title="Great Northern Railway (U.S.)">Great Northern Railway (U.S.)</a>" and "<a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party (UK)</a>". The abbreviations are preferred over <i>United States</i> and <i>United Kingdom</i>, for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:CONCISE" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:CONCISE">brevity</a>. In running text, more natural wording is often better ("the US state of Georgia", "US-based Great Northern Railway", "the Labour Party of the UK"), though this may depend on context. </p><p>To help navigation to article titles with these <i>United States</i> abbreviations, please create a redirect that contains <i>(U.S.)</i> or <i>(US)</i> as needed. For example, "<a href="/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_(US)" class="mw-redirect" title="Great Northern Railway (US)">Great Northern Railway (US)</a>" should redirect to "<a href="/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.)" title="Great Northern Railway (U.S.)">Great Northern Railway (U.S.)</a>" (or the other way around). Wikipedia does not use <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">USA</span>, except in proper names and in standardized codes (e.g. <a href="/wiki/FIFA" title="FIFA">FIFA</a>'s) that use it. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Acronyms_in_category_names" data-mw-thread-id="h-Acronyms_in_category_names-Acronyms"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Acronyms_in_category_names-Acronyms"></span>Acronyms in category names<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Acronyms_in_category_names-Acronyms"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Acronyms in category names"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For discussion on the use of acronyms in names of categories, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Naming_conventions_(categories)/Archive_7#Abbreviations:_to_expand_or_not_to_expand?" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (categories)/Archive 7">Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (categories)/Archive 7 § Abbreviations: to expand or not to expand?</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Contractions" data-mw-thread-id="h-Contractions"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Contractions"></span>Contractions<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Contractions"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Contractions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:N&#039;T"></span><span id="MOS:CONTRACT"></span><span id="MOS:CONTRACTION"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:N%27T&redirect=no">MOS:N'T</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:CONTRACT&redirect=no">MOS:CONTRACT</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:CONTRACTION&redirect=no">MOS:CONTRACTION</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_English_contractions" title="Wikipedia:List of English contractions">Wikipedia:List of English contractions</a></div> <p>A contraction is an abbreviation of one or more words that has some or all of the middle letters removed but retains the first and final letters (e.g. <i>Mr</i> and <i>aren't</i><span style="padding-left:0.15em;">)</span>. Missing letters are replaced by an apostrophe in most multiple-word contractions. Contractions such as <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">aren't</span> should not be used in Wikipedia, except in quoted material; use the full wording (e.g., <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">are not</span>) instead. The contraction <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">o'clock</span> is an exception, as it is standard in all <a href="/wiki/Register_(sociolinguistics)" title="Register (sociolinguistics)">registers</a> of writing. Certain placenames may use particular contractions <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1033199720"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><span role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable crossreference selfref">(see <a href="#Special_considerations">§ Special considerations</a>, below)</span>. </p><p>Per the guideline on <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biography#Titles_of_people" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography">titles of people</a>, prefix titles such as <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">Mr</span>, <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">Dr</span>, and <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">Prof.</span> should not be used. Prefixes of royalty and nobility often should be used, but not in abbreviated form. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1033199720"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><span role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable crossreference selfref">(For article titles, see: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(people)#Titles_and_styles" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)">Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people) § Titles and styles</a>; and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(royalty_and_nobility)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)">Wikipedia:Naming conventions (royalty and nobility)</a>.)</span> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Initials" data-mw-thread-id="h-Initials"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Initials"></span>Initials<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Initials"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Initials"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1033199720"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><span role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable crossreference selfref">For initials in biographical names, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biographies#Initials" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biographies">Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biographies § Initials</a>.</span> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Shortenings" data-mw-thread-id="h-Shortenings"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Shortenings"></span>Shortenings<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Shortenings"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Shortenings"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A shortening is an abbreviation formed by removing at least the last letter of a word (e.g. <i>etc.</i> and <i>rhino</i>), and sometimes also containing letters not present in the full form (e.g. <i>bike</i>). As a general rule, use a full point after a shortening that only exists in writing (e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">etc.</span>) but not for a shortening that is used in speech (e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">rhino</span>). In general, a full form is as acceptable as a shortened form, but there are exceptions e.g. <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">etc.</span> should be used over <i><span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">et cetera</span></i>. Uncommon, non-obvious shortenings should be explained or linked on first use on a page. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Songwriting_credits" data-mw-thread-id="h-Songwriting_credits-Shortenings"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Songwriting_credits-Shortenings"></span>Songwriting credits<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Songwriting_credits-Shortenings"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Songwriting credits"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Outside of prose, <a href="/wiki/Traditional_music" class="mw-redirect" title="Traditional music"><span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">trad.</span></a> and <a href="/wiki/Arrangement" title="Arrangement"><span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">arr.</span></a> may be used in songwriting credits to save space. On first usage, use <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Trad." title="Template:Trad.">trad.</a>}}</code> and <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Arr." title="Template:Arr.">arr.</a>}}</code>, which will display a mouse-over tooltip expanding the abbreviation. Similarly, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">feat.</span> for <i><a href="/wiki/Featured_performer" class="mw-redirect" title="Featured performer">featuring</a></i> has become common in modern music, and may appear in song or album credits, or in actual song titles, depending on the specific work. The template <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Feat." title="Template:Feat.">feat.</a>}}</code> exists for it. Avoid using the ambiguous hyper-abbreviation <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">ft.</span> except in verbatim material such as titles and quotations. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Miscellaneous_shortenings" data-mw-thread-id="h-Miscellaneous_shortenings-Shortenings"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Miscellaneous_shortenings-Shortenings"></span>Miscellaneous shortenings<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Miscellaneous_shortenings-Shortenings"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Miscellaneous shortenings"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:MISCSHORT"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:MISCSHORT&redirect=no">MOS:MISCSHORT</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <table class="wikitable sortable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Shortening</th> <th>Expansion</th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238216509">.mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#b1d2ff}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#0f4dc9}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#0f4dc9}}</style><span class="vanchor"><span id="approx."></span><span class="vanchor-text">approx.</span></span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Approximation" title="Approximation">approximately</a></td> <td>It should only be used in small spaces. It does not need to be linked. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="c."></span><span class="vanchor-text">c.</span></span></td> <td><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/circa" class="extiw" title="wikt:circa">circa</a></i></span> ('around')</td> <td>In dates, to indicate <i>around</i>, <i>approximately</i>, or <i>about</i>. In text the unitalicised abbreviation <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">c.</span> is preferred over <i>circa</i>, <i>ca</i>, <i>ca.</i>, <i>approximately</i>, or <i>approx.</i> It should not be italicised in normal usage. The template <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Circa" title="Template:Circa">circa</a>}}</code> should be used at first occurrence. In a table or otherwise where space is limited there may be less context and approx. may be clearer or if space is really tight ~ might be used instead. </td></tr> <tr> <td><i><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="cf."></span><span class="vanchor-text">cf.</span></span></i></td> <td><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Confer" class="mw-redirect" title="Confer">confer</a></i></span> ('compare' / 'consult')</td> <td>It should be linked on first use. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="Co."></span><span class="vanchor-text">Co.</span></span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Company" title="Company">Company</a></td> <td>It should only be used in the names of companies (e.g., "PLC", "LLC", "Inc.", "Ltd.", "GmbH"), and can usually be omitted unless an ambiguity would result. It does not need to be linked. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="ed."></span><span class="vanchor-text">ed.</span></span> (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="eds."></span><span class="vanchor-text">eds.</span></span>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Edition_(book)" title="Edition (book)">edition</a>/<a href="/wiki/Editor" class="mw-redirect" title="Editor">editor</a> (editions/editors)</td> <td>This shortening (and its plural contraction) should only be used in references. It does not need to be linked. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="et_al."></span><span class="vanchor-text">et al.</span></span></td> <td><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Et_alii" class="mw-redirect" title="Et alii">et alii</a></i></span> ('and others')</td> <td>It should normally only be used in references (see the <code class="tpl-para" style="word-break:break-word;">|display-authors=</code> feature of the <a href="/wiki/Help:Citation_Style_1" title="Help:Citation Style 1">citation templates</a>), and where it is part of a name, such as of a legal case, e.g. <i>United States v. Thompson et al.</i> It need not be linked. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="fl."></span><span class="vanchor-text">fl.</span></span></td> <td><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Floruit" title="Floruit">floruit</a></i></span> ('flourished')</td> <td>Use template <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Floruit" title="Template:Floruit">floruit</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> on first use. Do not use <i><span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">flor.</span></i> or <i><span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">flr.</span></i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="lit."></span><span class="vanchor-text">lit.</span></span></td> <td><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/literal#English" class="extiw" title="wikt:literal">literal</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Literal_translation" title="Literal translation">literal translation</a></td> <td>It should be linked (usually to <a href="/wiki/Literal_translation" title="Literal translation">Literal translation</a>, unless some other meaning is meant) on first use, unless <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Abbr" title="Template:Abbr">abbr</a>}}</code> is used to explain it. Many language formatting templates have a parameter that deals with this for you. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="rev."></span><span class="vanchor-text">rev.</span></span></td> <td>revised</td> <td>It should only be used in references. It does not need to be linked. </td></tr> <tr> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="vs."></span><span class="vanchor-text">vs.</span></span>/<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="vs"></span><span class="vanchor-text">vs</span></span>/<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="v."></span><span class="vanchor-text">v.</span></span>/<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="v"></span><span class="vanchor-text">v</span></span></td> <td><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/versus" class="extiw" title="wikt:versus">versus</a> (against / in contrast to)</td> <td>They do not need to be linked or explained with <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Abbr" title="Template:Abbr">abbr</a>}}</code>. The full word should be used in most cases, but it is conventional to use an abbreviation in certain contexts. In sports, it is "vs." or "vs", depending on <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Varieties_of_English" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">dialect</a>. In law, the usage is "v." or "v", depending on jurisdiction. In other contexts, use "vs." when abbreviation is necessary (e.g., in a compact table). The word and its abbreviations should not be italicised, since they have long been assimilated into the English language. (However, legal case names are themselves italicised, like book titles, including the "v." or "v".) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238216509"><span class="vanchor"><span id="viz."></span><span class="vanchor-text">viz.</span></span></i></td> <td><span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la"><a href="/wiki/Videlicet" class="mw-redirect" title="Videlicet">videlicet</a></i></span> ('that is to say' / 'namely')</td> <td>It should be linked on first use. </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Symbols" data-mw-thread-id="h-Symbols"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Symbols"></span>Symbols<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Symbols"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Symbols"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Unit_symbols" data-mw-thread-id="h-Unit_symbols-Symbols"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Unit_symbols-Symbols"></span>Unit symbols<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Unit_symbols-Symbols"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Unit symbols"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main page: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Units_of_measurement" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Wikipedia:Manual of Style § Units of measurement</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Miscellaneous_symbols" data-mw-thread-id="h-Miscellaneous_symbols-Symbols"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Miscellaneous_symbols-Symbols"></span>Miscellaneous symbols<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Miscellaneous_symbols-Symbols"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Miscellaneous symbols"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>The <b><a href="/wiki/Ampersand" title="Ampersand">ampersand</a></b> (<span class="example deprecated-content example-deprecated" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-subtle, #696969);">&</span>), a replacement for the word <i>and</i>, should only be used in small spaces such as tables and infoboxes, but, preferably, should be avoided even there. However, it is common in many trademarks and titles of published works, and should be retained when found in them.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures" data-mw-thread-id="h-Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures-Symbols"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures-Symbols"></span>Unicode abbreviation ligatures<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Unicode_abbreviation_ligatures-Symbols"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Unicode abbreviation ligatures"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Do not use Unicode characters that put an abbreviation into a single character (unless the character itself is the subject of the text), e.g.: <a href="/wiki/%E2%84%96" class="mw-redirect" title="№">№</a>, <a href="/wiki/LTD" class="mw-disambig" title="LTD">㋏</a>, <a href="/wiki/%E3%8E%87" class="mw-redirect" title="㎇">㎇</a>, <a href="/wiki/PTE" class="mw-disambig" title="PTE">㉐</a>, <a href="/wiki/Roman_numerals" title="Roman numerals">Ⅶ</a>, <a href="/wiki/%E2%84%85" class="mw-redirect" title="℅">℅</a>, <a href="/wiki/Trademark" title="Trademark">™︎</a>. These are not all well-supported in Western fonts. This does not apply to currency symbols, such as <a href="/wiki/%E2%82%A8" class="mw-redirect" title="₨">₨</a> and <a href="/wiki/%E2%82%A0" class="mw-redirect" title="₠">₠</a>. For more comprehensive lists, see <a href="/wiki/Ligatures_in_Unicode" class="mw-redirect" title="Ligatures in Unicode">Ligatures in Unicode</a>, <a href="/wiki/Letterlike_Symbols" title="Letterlike Symbols">Letterlike Symbols</a>, <a href="/wiki/CJK_Compatibility" title="CJK Compatibility">CJK Compatibility</a>, <a href="/wiki/Enclosed_CJK_Letters_and_Months" title="Enclosed CJK Letters and Months">Enclosed CJK Letters and Months</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Enclosed_Alphanumeric_Supplement" title="Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement">Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement</a>. </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/MOS:ROMANNUM" class="mw-redirect" title="MOS:ROMANNUM">MOS:ROMANNUM</a>, <a href="/wiki/MOS:CURRENCY" class="mw-redirect" title="MOS:CURRENCY">MOS:CURRENCY</a>, and <a href="/wiki/MOS:TM" class="mw-redirect" title="MOS:TM">MOS:TM</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Latinisms_and_abbreviations" data-mw-thread-id="h-Latinisms_and_abbreviations"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Latinisms_and_abbreviations"></span><span class="anchor" id="Latin_abbreviations"></span>Latinisms and abbreviations<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Latinisms_and_abbreviations"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Latinisms and abbreviations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:LATINABBR"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:LATINABBR&redirect=no">MOS:LATINABBR</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>As with other non-English vocabulary, Latin-language terms <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:IETF" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:IETF">should be tagged as such</a> using the <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Lang" title="Template:Lang">lang</a>|la|...}}</code> template, which automatically italicises the text. This includes Latin abbreviations, except those that are commonly used in English, such as <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">AD</span>, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">c.</span>, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">e.g.</span>, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">etc.</span>, <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">i.e.</span>, and several others found in <a href="#Miscellaneous_shortenings">the table above</a>. Do not use <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">&c.</span> in place of <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">etc.</span> </p><p>Other Latinisms that are considered English vocabulary and therefore are not tagged or italicised include <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">versus</span> and <span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">per cent</span>. If in doubt, consult reliable dictionaries and follow their lead. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia" data-mw-thread-id="h-Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia"></span>Abbreviations widely used in Wikipedia<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Abbreviations_widely_used_in_Wikipedia"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Abbreviations widely used in Wikipedia"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Widely_used_abbreviations_in_Wikipedia"></span> </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:COMMONABBR"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:COMMONABBR&redirect=no">MOS:COMMONABBR</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Wikipedia has found it both practical and efficient to use the following abbreviations in tight quarters such as citations, tables, and lists. Most should be replaced, in regular running text, by unabbreviated expansions or essentially synonymous plain English (<i>that is</i> for <i>i.e.</i>, <i>namely</i> for <i>viz.</i>, and so on), when space permits or when the material would be clearer to more readers. A common rule of thumb regarding <i>i.e.</i> and <i>e.g.</i> is that they are best used in parentheticals rather than in the main flow of a sentence. Versions of non-acronym abbreviations that do not end in full points (periods) are <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:ENGVAR" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:ENGVAR">more common in British than North American English</a> and are always<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> abbreviations that compress a word while retaining its first and last letters (i.e., contractions: Dr, St, Revd) rather than truncation abbreviations (Prof., Co.). That said, US military ranks are often abbreviated without this punctuation (though they should not be given in all-caps, despite that style existing "in the wild" in some publications). </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Word(s)</th> <th>Abbreviation </th></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Places </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Avenue_(landscape)" title="Avenue (landscape)">Avenue</a></td> <td>Ave. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Boulevard" title="Boulevard">Boulevard</a></td> <td>Blvd. or Blvd </td></tr> <tr> <td>Court</td> <td>Ct. or Ct <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only for a few houses)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Drive</td> <td>Dr. or Dr </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/East" title="East">East</a></td> <td>E. or E <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Freeway" class="mw-redirect" title="Freeway">Freeway</a></td> <td>Fwy. or Fwy <span style="font-size:85%;">(the term is not generally used outside of North America)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Highway" title="Highway">Highway</a></td> <td>Hwy. or Hwy <span style="font-size:85%;">(the term is not generally used outside of North America)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Motorway" class="mw-redirect" title="Motorway">Motorway</a></td> <td>Mwy <span style="font-size:85%;">(the term is not generally used in North America)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Mountain" title="Mountain">Mountain</a></td> <td>Mtn. or Mtn </td></tr> <tr> <td>Mount</td> <td>Mt. or Mt </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North" title="North">North</a></td> <td>N. or N <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>North East or <a href="/wiki/Northeast" class="mw-redirect" title="Northeast">Northeast</a></td> <td>N.E. or NE <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>North West or <a href="/wiki/Northwest" class="mw-redirect" title="Northwest">Northwest</a></td> <td>N.W. or NW <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Road" title="Road">Road</a></td> <td>Rd. or Rd </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/South" title="South">South</a></td> <td>S. or S <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>South East or <a href="/wiki/Cardinal_direction#Additional_points" title="Cardinal direction">Southeast</a></td> <td>S.E. or SE <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>South West or <a href="/wiki/Cardinal_direction#Additional_points" title="Cardinal direction">Southwest</a></td> <td>S.W. or SW <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Street" title="Street">Street</a></td> <td>St. or St </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/West" title="West">West</a></td> <td>W. or W <span style="font-size:85%;">(use only in street addresses, coordinates, and other special contexts, not in usual text)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Organisation name elements </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Academy" title="Academy">Academy</a></td> <td>Acad. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Association_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Association (disambiguation)">Association</a></td> <td>Assn. or Assn </td></tr> <tr> <td>Associates</td> <td>Assoc. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/College" title="College">College</a></td> <td>Coll. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Company" title="Company">Company</a></td> <td>Co. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Corporation" title="Corporation">Corporation</a></td> <td>Corp. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Doing_business_as" class="mw-redirect" title="Doing business as">Doing business as</a></td> <td>d.b.a. or DBA (avoid <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">d/b/a</span> and <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">D/B/A</span>; these are obsolete) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Incorporation_(business)" title="Incorporation (business)">Incorporated</a></td> <td>Inc. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Institute" title="Institute">Institute</a>/<a href="/wiki/Institution" title="Institution">Institution</a></td> <td>Inst. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Limited_company" title="Limited company">Limited</a></td> <td>Ltd. or Ltd </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Limited_liability_company" title="Limited liability company">Limited liability company</a> (or partnership)</td> <td>LLC (LLP) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Public_limited_company" title="Public limited company">Public limited company</a></td> <td>plc or PLC </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Manufacturing" title="Manufacturing">Manufacturing</a></td> <td>Mfg. or Mfg </td></tr> <tr> <td>Press</td> <td>Pr. </td></tr> <tr> <td>Publications</td> <td>Pub., Pubs., Pubs </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Publisher" class="mw-redirect" title="Publisher">Publishing</a></td> <td>Pubg. or Pubg </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/University" title="University">University</a></td> <td>Univ., U., or Uni. </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Academic degrees, professional titles, etc., used with personal names </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts" title="Bachelor of Arts">Bachelor of Arts</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<i>Artium Baccalaureus</i>)</span></td> <td>BA or AB </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Laws" title="Bachelor of Laws">Bachelor of Laws</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<i>Legum Baccalaureus</i>)</span></td> <td>LLB </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science" title="Bachelor of Science">Bachelor of Science</a></td> <td>BS or BSc </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Master_of_Arts" title="Master of Arts">Master of Arts</a></td> <td>MA or AM </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Master_of_Science" title="Master of Science">Master of Science</a></td> <td>MS or MSc </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Doctor_(title)" title="Doctor (title)">Doctor</a></td> <td>Dr. or Dr </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Doctor_of_Medicine" title="Doctor of Medicine">Doctor of Medicine</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<i>Medicinæ Doctor</i>)</span></td> <td>MD </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy" title="Doctor of Philosophy">Doctor of Philosophy</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<i>Philosophiæ Doctor</i>)</span></td> <td>PhD </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Honorable" class="mw-redirect" title="Honorable">Honorable</a></td> <td>Hon. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Right_Honourable" class="mw-redirect" title="Right Honourable">Right Honourable</a></td> <td>Rt. Hon. or Rt Hon. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Junior" class="mw-disambig" title="Junior">Junior</a></td> <td>Jnr (not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:JR" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:JR">Jr.</a>) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Monsignor" title="Monsignor">Monsignor</a></td> <td>Mons., Msgr., or Msgr </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Registered_nurse" title="Registered nurse">Registered nurse</a></td> <td>RN </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Reverend" class="mw-redirect" title="Reverend">Reverend</a></td> <td>Rev. or Revd </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Saint" title="Saint">Saint</a></td> <td>St. or St </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Senior" class="mw-disambig" title="Senior">Senior</a></td> <td>Snr (not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:JR" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:JR">Sr.</a>) </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Military ranks </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/General" class="mw-redirect" title="General">General</a></td> <td>Gen. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Colonel" title="Colonel">Colonel</a></td> <td>Col. or Col </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Commander" title="Commander">Commander</a></td> <td>Cmdr., Cmdr, Cdr, or Comdr </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Major_(rank)" title="Major (rank)">Major</a></td> <td>Maj. or Maj </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Captain" title="Captain">Captain</a></td> <td>Capt. </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Lieutenant" title="Lieutenant">Lieutenant</a></td> <td>Lt. or Lt </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Master_sergeant" title="Master sergeant">Master sergeant</a></td> <td>MSgt. or MSgt </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Technical_sergeant" title="Technical sergeant">Technical sergeant</a></td> <td>TSgt. or TSgt </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Staff_sergeant" title="Staff sergeant">Staff sergeant</a></td> <td>SSgt. or SSgt </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Sergeant" title="Sergeant">Sergeant</a></td> <td>Sgt. or Sgt </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Corporal" title="Corporal">Corporal</a></td> <td>Cpl. or Cpl </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Private_(rank)" title="Private (rank)">Private</a></td> <td>Pvt. or Pvt </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2">Citation elements </th></tr> <tr> <td>Chapter</td> <td>chap. </td></tr> <tr> <td>No date</td> <td>n.d. </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Special_considerations" data-mw-thread-id="h-Special_considerations"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Special_considerations"></span>Special considerations<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Special_considerations"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Special considerations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="MOS:POSTABBR"></span><span id="MOS:STATEABBR"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:POSTABBR&redirect=no">MOS:POSTABBR</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MOS:STATEABBR&redirect=no">MOS:STATEABBR</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Postal_code" title="Postal code">Postal codes</a> and abbreviations of place names—e.g., <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">Calif.</span> (California), <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">TX</span> (Texas), <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">Yorks.</span> (Yorkshire)—should not be used to stand for the full names in normal text. They can be used in tables when space is tight but should be marked up with <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Abbr" title="Template:Abbr">abbr</a>}}</code> template on first occurrence. They should not be used in infoboxes. An exception is <a href="/wiki/Washington,_D.C." title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>, which has been conventionally called so, for reasons of clarity, since long before postal codes were invented. "Washington, D.C.", or "Washington, DC", may be used in tables whether or not other state postal codes appear. Never use "Washington D.C." (without a comma).</li> <li><i>Saint</i> (or <i>Sainte</i>) versus the <i>St</i> and <i>St.</i> (or <i>Ste.</i>) abbreviations in placenames should follow <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles#Use_commonly_recognizable_names" title="Wikipedia:Article titles">the most common rendering found in reliable sources</a> for that particular locale; this will most often match the official name of the place.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="See_also" data-mw-thread-id="h-See_also"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-See_also"></span>See also<span data-mw-comment-end="h-See_also"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Acronyms_and_abbreviations" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Wikipedia:Manual of Style § Acronyms and abbreviations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters#Acronyms" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters">Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters § Acronyms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences#Punctuation" class="mw-redirect" title="American and British English differences">American and British English differences § Punctuation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Edit_summary_legend" title="Wikipedia:Edit summary legend">Wikipedia:Edit summary legend</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(aircraft)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (aircraft)">Wikipedia:Naming conventions (aircraft)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(ships)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ships)">Wikipedia:Naming conventions (ships)</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Notes" data-mw-thread-id="h-Notes"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Notes"></span>Notes<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Notes"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Abbreviations&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">For television-related articles, use the country adjective. See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Naming_conventions_(television)/Archive_16#RFC:_What_disambiguation_should_shows_from_the_United_States_and_United_Kingdom_use?" title="Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (television)/Archive 16">this RfC</a> for additional information.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Some British/Commonwealth news publishers have begun dropping the dots from <em>all</em> abbreviations. 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href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Styletips" title="Wikipedia:Styletips">Tips</a></b></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(content)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (content)">Content</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Accessibility" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biography" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography">Biography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Disambiguation_pages" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages">Disambiguation pages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Organizing_disambiguation_pages_by_subject_area" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Organizing disambiguation pages by subject area">Organizing by subject area</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Gender_identity" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Gender identity">Gender identity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Hidden_text" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Hidden text">Hidden text</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Infoboxes" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Infoboxes">Infoboxes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Linking" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Linking">Linking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Self-references_to_avoid" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid">Self-references</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch">Words to watch</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(formatting)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (formatting)">Formatting</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Abbreviations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters">Capitalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers">Dates and numbers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Pronunciation" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation">Pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Spelling" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Spelling">Spelling</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Text_formatting" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting">Text formatting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Titles_of_works" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles of works">Titles of works</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(images)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (images)">Images</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Captions" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Captions">Captions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Image_use_policy#Adding_images_to_articles" title="Wikipedia:Image use policy">Image placement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Icons" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Icons">Icons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Images" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Images">Images</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(layout)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (layout)">Layout</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Layout" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Layout">Layout</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lead_section" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section">Lead section</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Tables" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Tables">Tables</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Trivia_sections" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trivia sections">Trivia sections</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(lists)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (lists)">Lists</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists_of_works" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists of works">Lists of works</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Road_junction_lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Road junction lists">Road junctions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Stand-alone_lists" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Stand-alone lists">Stand-alone lists</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">By topic area</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(legal)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (legal)">Legal</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Legal" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Legal">Legal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Trademarks" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trademarks">Trademarks</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(arts)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (arts)">Arts</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Anime_and_manga" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Anime and manga">Anime and manga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Comics" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Comics">Comics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Film" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Film">Film</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lyrics_and_poetry" title="Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry">Lyrics and poetry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Novels" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Novels">Novels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Television" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Television">Television</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Video_games" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Video games">Video games</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Visual_arts" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Visual arts">Visual arts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Writing_about_fiction" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction">Writing about fiction</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(music)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (music)">Music</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Music" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Music_samples" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music samples">Music samples</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Record_charts" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Record charts">Record charts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Stringed_instrument_tunings" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Stringed instrument tunings">Stringed instruments</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(history)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (history)">History</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Blazon" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Blazon">Blazons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Military_history" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Military history">Military history</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(regional)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (regional)">Regional</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(geographic_names)#Specific_topics" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)">Specific naming conventions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Canada-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Canada-related articles">Canada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/China-_and_Chinese-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/China- and Chinese-related articles">China (and Chinese)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/France-_and_French-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/France- and French-related articles">France (and French)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Egypt-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Egypt-related articles">Egypt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Hawaii-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Hawaii-related articles">Hawaii</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/India-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/India-related articles">India</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Indonesia-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Indonesia-related articles">Indonesia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Ireland-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Ireland-related articles">Ireland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Japan-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Japan-related articles">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Korea-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Korea-related articles">Korea</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Malaysia-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Malaysia-related articles">Malaysia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Macedonia)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Macedonia)">Macedonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Pakistan-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pakistan-related articles">Pakistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Philippines-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Philippines-related articles">Philippines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Poland-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Poland-related articles">Poland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Singapore-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Singapore-related articles">Singapore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Trinidad_and_Tobago/Style_guide" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Trinidad and Tobago/Style guide">Trinidad and Tobago</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(religion)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (religion)">Religion</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Islam-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Islam-related articles">Islam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Latter_Day_Saints" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Latter Day Saints">Latter Day Saints</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(science)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (science)">Science</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Mathematics" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Mathematics">Mathematics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Medicine-related_articles" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Medicine-related articles">Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry">Chemistry</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Compound_classes" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Compound classes">Compound classes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Chemicals" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Chemicals">Chemicals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/References_and_external_links" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/References and external links">References and external links</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Safety" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Safety">Safety</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Chemistry/Structure_drawing" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Chemistry/Structure drawing">Structure drawing</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Computer_science" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Computer science">Computer science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Taxobox/doc" title="Template:Taxobox/doc">Taxonomy</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(sports)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (sports)">Sports</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Cue_sports" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Cue sports">Cue sports</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Snooker" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Snooker">Snooker</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Figure_skating" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Figure skating">Figure skating</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Figure_skating_terminology" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Figure skating terminology">Terminology</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Manual_of_Style_(related_guidelines)" title="Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (related guidelines)">Related guidelines</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_size" title="Wikipedia:Article size">Article size</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles" title="Wikipedia:Article titles">Article titles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_navigation_templates" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates">Categories, lists, and navigation templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorization" title="Wikipedia:Categorization">Categorization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Hatnote" title="Wikipedia:Hatnote">Hatnotes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Subpages" title="Wikipedia:Subpages">Subpages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Make_technical_articles_understandable" title="Wikipedia:Make technical articles 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