were going to welcome me into the fellowship of writers by sending signed copies of their latest work. and similar abbreviations in expository writing, but usage evidence tells otherwise.Īpparently John Updike, Saul Bellow et al. It is best to consult the recommended style handbook if you are unsure.Ĭommentators generally discourage the use of et al. In the sciences, either the first three names are listed and followed by et al., or as many as six names are listed. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. In the humanities, only the first author's name precedes et al.: enters English in the late 19th century and is a shortening of the Latin phrase et alii (the masculine form), et aliae (the feminine), or et alia (the neuter)-all of which mean "and others" or "and the others." It is most frequently used in citing (as in a footnote, endnote, or bibliography) a publication that has three or more authors. You can see I am a disciple of Laing and his approach, cf. can also be used in the main body of a written work: can be interpreted as meaning "but compare to this":ġ1. It is often used in the endnotes or footnotes of researched writing, and generally, it is preceded by a citation of a work that supports a claim and follows a reference offering slightly different or even contradictory information about the claim presented. However, a vestige of it is found in modern confer meaning "to consult," or "to compare views or take counsel," as in "The lawyer and judge conferred about the ruling" or "Let me confer with my wife before I make a decision." Conferre is also the root of conference, which designates a meeting at which opinions are shared and compared. The Ladies vanish in the Smother / To confer Notes with one another. comes from Latin confer, the imperative (i.e., the grammatical form expressing a command) of conferre, meaning "compare." English writers borrowed confer in the general sense of "compare" in the 16th century, but that sense fell into disuse by the end of the 18th century.
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