It stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
#Abbreviations for words in english series
(When fully spelled out, the words in acronyms and initialisms do not need to be capitalized unless they entail a proper noun.)Īn acronym is pronounced as a single word, rather than as a series of letters. Typically, acronyms and initialisms are written in all capital letters to distinguish them from ordinary words. Both acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed by combining the initial letter or letters of each word into a longer name or phrase. Acronyms and InitialismsĪbbreviations come in a few different varieties. If the abbreviation is obscure or unfamiliar, make sure to explain what it means the first time you use it. The other thing to remember is that some readers may not know what an abbreviation means. If you are writing something very formal, it’s better to err on the side of spelling things out.
#Abbreviations for words in english full
do not need a final full stop.One thing to remember about abbreviations is that certain ones are considered informal. Units of measurement and scientific symbols such as ‘ha’, ‘km’, ‘mg’, etc. PES (public employment service(s)) or RES (renewable energy source(s)), though care should always be taken to avoid ambiguity and the full plural term may be preferable. In such cases, one possibility is to allow the abbreviation to stand for both the singular and the plural form, e.g. SOSs, this may look clumsy if used frequently within the same text.
While an abbreviation ending in ‘S’ should also take an ‘s’ for the plural form, e.g. Plurals of acronyms, initialisms and figures do not take an apostrophe unless they are in the possessive: MEPs, OCTs, SMEs, 1920s, 747s For example, ‘l’article 3 §1’ should read ‘Article 3(1)’ in English. Avoid using the § sign, which means ‘section’ in English but ‘paragraph’ in other languages, unless the section referred to is itself marked by such a symbol. It is never followed by a full stop, and its plural is Nos (no point).ĭo not abbreviate Article to ‘Art.’ in running text. ‘No’ as in ‘No 1’ is a contraction of ‘numero’. Truncations take a full stop, but contractions do not. or inc.), and a contraction, in which the interior of the word is removed (e.g. Note the difference between a truncation, in which the end of the word is deleted (e.g. Thus: Benelux, Esprit, Helios, Interreg, ResiderĮxceptions: organisations that themselves use upper case (such as UNESCO and UNCTAD) and other acronyms conventionally written in upper case. However, established usage may be different, particularly for the names of companies (ICI, IBM, etc.) and universities (UEA, UCL, etc.).Īcronyms with up to five letters are uppercased: AIDS, COST, COVID-19, ECHO, EFTA, NASA, NATO, SHAPE, TRIPSĮxceptions: Tacis and Phare, which are no longer considered acronymsĪcronyms with six letters or more should normally be written with an initial capital followed by lower case. Generally speaking, acronyms do not take a definite article (NATO, REACH, etc.), but initialisms do (the UK, the BBC, the EU, etc.). Initialisms are formed from the initial letters of a series of words and each separate letter is pronounced (BBC, MEP, USA, etc.).Īs a general principle, acronyms and initialisms do not have a full stop between the capitals.Įxcept for well-known acronyms and initialisms, write out the full term followed by the abbreviation in brackets on its first mention in a document (or, where necessary, in long reports, on its first mention in each section): The emissions trading scheme (ETS) should enable the EU to meet its Kyoto target. Some of these are formed from French titles (e.g. In repeated references, it is also often possible to use a short form instead of an abbreviation: The emissions trading scheme is now in operation throughout the EU … The scheme will involve constant monitoring of emissions trading activities.Īcronyms are words formed from the first (or first few) letters of a series of words, and are pronounced as words (Benelux, NATO, etc.). If an abbreviation occurs only once or twice, it is best to dispense with it altogether and use the full form. Second, they should not be used needlessly. If your document contains a lot of abbreviations, consider including a list of them and their meanings at the beginning or end of the document. So when an abbreviation that may not be familiar to readers first occurs, it is best to write out the full term followed by the abbreviation in brackets: The emissions trading scheme (ETS) should enable the EU to meet its Kyoto target. The prime consideration when using abbreviations should be to help the reader.
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