Hi! Welcome to “Dusty Phrases.” You will find below an ancient phrase in one language or another, along with its English translation. You may also find the power to inspire your friends or provoke dread among your enemies.
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Latin:
Exempli gratia
English:
For example
This Latin phrase is one that is still used often, though primarily as an abbreviation.
I enjoy sports (e.g. football, basketball, darts.)
How many people know what the “e” and “g” stand for though? I would imagine that *most* English speakers and writers do not know, though thanks to my efforts here, that number will decrease by tens of people. From wiktionary:
Etymology
The adverb is a terser form of ex. gr., both abbreviating Latin exemplī grātiā (“for the sake of an example”); e.g. was also used as an abbreviation in Latin.
The noun is derived from the adverb.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌiːˈdʒiː/, /fɔːɹ‿ɪɡˈzɑːmpəl/ (see the usage notes below)
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌiˈd͡ʒi/, /fɔɹ‿ɪɡˈzæmpəl/ (see the usage notes below)
- Audio (US)Duration: 1 second.0:01
- Rhymes: -iː, -ɑːmpəl
Adverb
e.g.
- An initialism used to introduce an illustrative example or short list of examples: for the sake of an example; for example. quotations ▼Continents (e.g., Asia) contain many large bodies of water (e.g., lakes and inland seas) and many large flowing streams of water (i.e., rivers).
Usage notes
- Unlike etc., e.g. is very seldom read as a full Latin phrase. Like i.e., it is typically read out as its English calque (“for example”) or as its letters (“E-G”). It is also sometimes taught or glossed as “example given” for the benefit of English speakers.
- E.g. and its examples are typically set off from the rest of the sentence by punctuation. In US English, e.g. is usually followed by a comma. It is not followed by a comma in other English-speaking countries.
(UK) I like sweet foods, e.g. danishes.(US) I like sweet foods (e.g., marzipan) but brush regularly.(US) I like sweet foods (e.g. marzipan) but brush regularly.(rare, US) I like sweet foods — e.g., red-bean zongzi — and so prefer Shanghainese cuisine to, e.g., Cantonese.
- The example(s) following e.g. should be illustrative, not exhaustive. An exhaustive list or rephrasing uses i.e. instead. The use of etc. after e.g. is typically redundant.
- Rarely, exempli gratia is spelled in full.
Alternative forms
Translations
initialism used to introduce an illustrative example or short list of examples
Noun
e.g.
- (informal, nonstandard, proscribed) An example.Lemurs are an e.g. of a non-simian primate.
