Viz.
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Look up viz. or videlicet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Viz. (also rendered viz without a period) and the adverb videlicet are used as synonyms for "namely", "that is to say", and "as follows".
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[edit] Etymology
Viz. is the medieval scribal abbreviation for videlicet; it specifically uses a Tironian abbreviation. It comprises the letters v and i followed by ⁊[1][note 1], the common medieval Latin contraction for et and -et. It has been included in Unicode since version 5.1. The glyph ⁊ for "and" is the only other Tironian abbreviation remaining in use.
Videlicet is a contraction of Classical Latin vidēre licet, which meant "it may be seen, evidently, clearly" (vidēre, to see; licet, third person singular present tense of licēre, to be permitted). In Latin, videlicet was used to confirm a previous sentence or to state its contrary.
[edit] Usage
Viz. is an abbreviation of videlicet, which itself is a contraction from Latin of "videre licet" meaning "it is permitted to see."[2][3][4] Both forms introduce a specification or description of something stated earlier; this is often a list preceded by a colon (:). Although both forms survive in English, viz. is far more common than videlicet.
In contradistinction to i.e. and e.g., viz. is used to indicate a detailed description of something stated before, and when it precedes a list of group members, it implies (near) completeness.
- Viz. is usually read aloud as "that is", "namely", or "to wit",[5] but is sometimes pronounced as it is spelt. /ˈvɪz/.
A similar expression is scilicet, abbreviated as sc., which is Latin for "it is permitted to know". Sc. provides a parenthetic clarification, removes an ambiguity, or supplies a word omitted in preceding text, while viz. is usually used to elaborate or detail text which precedes it. In legal usage, scilicet appears abbreviated as ss. or, in a caption, as §, where it provides a statement of venue[clarification needed] and is read as "to wit".[6] Scilicet can be read as "namely," "to wit," or "that is to say," or pronounced /ˈsɪlɨsɛt/ or /ˈskiːlɨkɛt/.[7]
[edit] Examples
- The main point of his speech, viz. that our attitude was in fact harmful, was not understood.
- "My grandfather had four sons who grew up, viz.: Thomas, John, Benjamin and Josiah."[8]
- The noble gases, viz., helium, neon, argon, xenon, krypton, and radon, show a non-expected behavior when exposed to this new element.
[edit] References
- ^ Brewer, Ebenezer (1970). Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. New York: Harper & Row. p. 1132.
- ^ OED
- ^ The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (revised third edition, 1998), pp. 825, 828.
- ^ American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition, 2000), p. 1917
- ^ a b AMHER (fourth edition, 2000), p. 1917.
- ^ Black's Law Dictionary (sixth edition, 1990), p. 1403.
- ^ AMHER (fourth edition, 2000), p. 1560.
- ^ The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin at Project Gutenberg.
[edit] Notes
- ^ According to E. Cobham Brewer (1810–1897), Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the same abbreviation mark was used for "habet" and "omnibus".
