ABBREVIATIONS or are used in writing to save time and space, or it may be to ensure secrecy. They are of two kinds, consisting either in the omission of some letters or words, or in the substitution of some arbitrary sign. In the earliest times, when uncial or lapidary characters were used, abbre viations by omission prevailed, such as we find in the inscriptions on monuments, coins, etc. The ancient copiers of MSS. invented many contractions to facilitate their labor. Greek MSS. abound in such, and hence often cannot be read without a previous regular study of Greek palaeography. From MSS. these contractions were transferred to the printed editions of Greek authors, and have only been wholly disused within the past century; hence regular lists of them were given in the earlier Greek grammars, because the knowledge of them was absolutely. essential to the student. Some of the commoner are still given in some gram mars, as many Greek works are accessible only in editions full of them. Among the Romans the marks of abbreviation, called notc• or compendia scribendi, were so numerous that, in a classification by L. Annzeus Seneca, they amount to 5000. With the Latin lan guage the ancient Roman abbreviations passed i to the Middle Ages, appearing first on nscrip tions and coins, then in manuscripts, and, more especially after the 11th century, in charters and other legal documents, and the practice continued in these long after the invention of printing had made it unnecessary in books. The use of them in legal documents was for bidden by an act of Parliament passed in the reign of George II. In ordinary writing and printing few abbreviations are now employed. The abbreviations by using the initials of words are chiefly confined to titles, dates, and a few phrases: A.M.—Magister Artium,
Master of Arts; A.D.—Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord; F.R.G.S.— Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In the following list most of the abbreviations that are likely to be met with by modern readers are alpha betically arranged, save chemical elements, for which see table of ATOMIC WEIGHTS. The standard abbreviations used in library cata logues are also given. For Latin abbre viations see Campelli's 'Dizionario di Abbre viature (Milan, 1899) ; Dobbs"Abbreviations, British and Foreign' (1911).
A.A.—Associate of Arts.
A.A.A.— Amateur Athletic Association (Brit.). A.A.A.S.—American Association for the Ad vancement of Science.
A.A.P.S.—American Association for the Pro motion of Science.
A.A.S.—Academier Americana. Socius, Fellow of the American Academy (of Arts and Sci ences) ; American Automobile Association.
A.A.S.S.—Americana' Antiquariance Societatis Socius, Member of the American Antiquarian Society.
A.B.—Artium Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Arts. A.B.C.F.M.—American Board of Commis sioners for Foreign Missions. Abp.—Archbishop.
Abr.—Abridgement, or Abridged.
a/c — Account.
A.C.— Ante Christum, before the birth of Christ.
Acad. Nat. Sci.— Academy of Natural Sciences. Accel.— accelerando, In music, more quickly. A.D.— Anno Domini, in the year of the Lord. A.D.C.— Aide-de-camp.
Adjt.— Adjutant.
Adjt.-Gen.— Adjutant-General.
Ad lib.— Ad libitum, at pleasure.
Admr.— Administrator.
Admx.— Administratrix.
Ads.— Ad sectam, at the suit (of ).
Ad v.—Ad valorem, at (or on) the value. iEtatis, of age; aged.