The punctuation of abbreviations is an area that is subject toconsiderable differences of opinion. For example, as demonstratedby the question above, not everyone agrees on when (or if) touse full stops.
It's an indication of just how confused this area is that eventhe basic terminology isn't agreed upon. You'd think that asimple term like abbreviation was easy to define, wouldn't you?Sure you would, yet some camps distinguish between abbreviationsand contractions (giving each different punctuation rules), whileothers lump everything in together as abbreviations.
A common definition of abbreviation goes something like this:
An abbreviation is a shortened version of a word or phrase and is often followed by a period. For example, c.o.d., ft-lb, St. or publ.
Unfortunately, there is rarely any cogent explanation of whatis meant by "often followed by a period", so just *when* does anabbreviation take a period, and when doesn't it?
In an effort to provide clear answers to these questions, Ipresent the following more precise definitions:
An ABBREVIATION is a shortened form of a word that does not include the full word's final letter.
A CONTRACTION is a shortened form of a word that does include the full word's final letter.
Here are some examples of abbreviations:
Tues. Tuesday approx. approximately doz. dozen Aug. August Prof. Professor Aust. Australia a.m. anti meridian p.m. post meridian i.e. id est e.g. exempli gratia
Abbreviations are followed by a full stop. You can think of thefull stop as being a replacement for the missing final letter.
Note that abbreviations like "p.m." are actually two separateabbreviations: "p." for "post" and "m." for "meridian."
Here are some examples of contractions. Contractions should notbe followed by a full stop as they retain the final letter of theoriginal word.
Rd Road govt government St Street ft feet Mr Mister mfg manufacturing Dr Doctor Mme Madame Pty Proprietary Ltd Limited dept department yds yards
Not everyone will agree with this approach. Still, in my view,distinguishing between abbreviations and contractions is a betterway to proceed than the ambiguous definition quoted earlier thatrelies on you guessing what "often followed by a period" means.
