Language · 1
What does 'et cetera' mean?
Answer
and so forth
'Et cetera' is a Latin phrase literally translating to 'and the other things' or more idiomatically 'and so forth.' It is abbreviated as 'etc.' and is used in English to indicate that a list continues with similar items but is not exhaustive. Despite being a foreign phrase, 'et cetera' has been so thoroughly adopted into English that it appears in virtually all major English dictionaries.
💡 Did you know?
The abbreviation 'etc.' is used so frequently in writing that many English speakers forget it's actually Latin.
Other options people guess
- in particular
- for example
- nevertheless
Topics
- foreign phrases
- Latin
- abbreviations
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