Encyclopaedia of Abbreviations

LCSH Abbreviations ‐ dictionaries

The use of abbreviations in written texts seems a spontaneous way to simplify lengthy and tedious words such as “lab” for laboratory, “lt” for lieutenant, and “etc” for et cetera. Their use came into prominence in the early nineteenth century with the use of abbreviations like OK and SOS. The emergence and widespread use of newspapers gave a fillip to their use. In science, especially in mathematics and chemistry, their use became a compelling necessity to initially use abbreviations, such as cm² (square centimeter ), kmph ( kilometer per hour ) and so on, so...