et cetera
[ et set-er-uh, se-truh ]
/ ɛt ˈsɛt ər ə, ˈsɛ trə /
adverb
and others; and so forth; and so on (used to indicate that more of the same sort or class might have been mentioned, but for brevity have been omitted): He had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, frogs, et cetera, as pets. Abbreviation: etc.
Origin of et cetera
1100–50; late Old English < Latin
usage note for et cetera
E
t cetera , a Latin phrase, appears in English writing most frequently in its abbreviated form,
etc . This phrase is used frequently in technical and business writing, somewhat less frequently in general informal writing, and sometimes in literary or formal writing. Expressions such as
and so forth and
and so on are useful substitutes. Because “and” is included in the meaning of
et cetera , the expression
and et cetera is redundant.
pronunciation note for et cetera
Pronunciations with
[k] /k/ substituted for the first
[t] /t/:
[ek-set-er-uh] /ɛkˈsɛt ər ə/, or
[ek-se-truh] /ɛkˈsɛ trə/, although occasionally used by educated speakers, are usually considered nonstandard.
Words nearby et cetera
estuary english,
esu,
esurient,
et,
et al.,
et cetera,
et hoc genus omne,
et seq.,
et seqq.,
et tu, brute,
et tu, brute?
British Dictionary definitions for et cetera
et cetera
etcetera
/ (ɪt ˈsɛtrə) /
and the rest; and others; and so forth: used at the end of a list to indicate that other items of the same class or type should be considered or included
or the like; or something else similar
Abbreviation:
etc.,
&c
See also
etceteras
Word Origin for et cetera
from Latin, from
et and +
cetera the other (things)
usage for et cetera
It is unnecessary to use
and before
etc as
etc (
et cetera) already means
and other things. The repetition of
etc, as in
he brought paper, ink, notebooks, etc, etc, is avoided except in informal contexts