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| Term Abbreviations |
| adj. | adjective |
| Ant. | antonym |
| CF: | compare |
| e.g. | for example |
| esp. | especially |
| et al. | and others |
| etc. | and so forth |
| Etymol. | etymology |
| i.e. | that is |
| Pl. | plural |
| Pron. | pronunciation |
| q.v. | which see |
| Sing. | singular |
| sp gr | specific gravity |
| specif. | specifically |
| Syn: or syn. | synonym |
| v. or V. | verb |
| var. | variant |
| Place Name Abbreviations |
| Arg | Argentina. |
| Aust | Australia. |
| Belg | Belgium. |
| Berks | Berkshire, England. |
| Bol | Bolivia. |
| Braz | Brazil. |
| Brist | Bristol Coalfield, England. |
| Can | Dominion of Canada. |
| Cent. Am | Central America. |
| Ches | Cheshire, England. |
| Clev | Cleveland iron district, England. |
| Colom | Republic of Colombia. |
| Corn | Cornwall, England. |
| Cumb | Cumberland Coalfield, England. |
| Derb | Derbyshire Coalfield, England. |
| Dev | Devonshire, England. |
| E. Ind | East Indies. |
| Eng | England. |
| Forest of Dean | Forest of Dean Coalfield, England. |
| Fr | French. |
| Ger | German. |
| Gr. Brit | Great Britain. |
| Glouc | Gloucestershire Coalfield, England. |
| Hid | Hidalgo, Mex. |
| Hind | Hindustan. |
| Ire | Ireland. |
| It | Italian. |
| Kent | Kent, England. |
| Lanc | Lancashire Coalfield, England. |
| Leic | Leicestershire, England. |
| Mex | Mexico. |
| Mid | Midland Coalfield, England. |
| Newc | Newcastle Coalfield, England. |
| N.S.W. | New South Wales, Australia. |
| N.Z. | New Zealand. |
| Norf | Norfolk, England. |
| N. of Eng | North of England. |
| N. Staff | North Staffordshire Coalfield, England. |
| Northumb | Northumberland Coalfield, England. |
| N. Wales | North Wales. |
| Pac | Pacific Coast, U.S.A. |
| Pat | Patagonia, South America. |
| Port | Portuguese (mostly in Brazil). |
| Prov | Provincial, United States, unless otherwise specified. |
| Pr | Prussian. |
| Russ | Russia. |
| Scot | Scotland. |
| Shrop | Shropshire, England. |
| S. Afr | Republic of South Africa. |
| S. Am | South America. |
| S. Staff | South Staffordshire, England. |
| S. Wales | South Wales, Great Britain. |
| Som | Somerset, England. |
| Sp | Spanish origin but not necessarily used in Spain. |
| Sp Am | Spanish America. |
| Staff | Staffordshire, England. |
| Suff | Suffolk, England. |
| Sw | Swedish. |
| Trans | Transvaal, Republic of South Africa. |
| U.K. | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. |
| U.S. | United States of America. |
| U.S.S.R. | Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. |
| Venez | Venezuela. |
| W. Afr | West Africa. |
| War | Warwickshire, England. |
| York | Yorkshire, England. |
| US State Abbreviations |
| AL | Alabama | ME | Maine | OR | Oregon |
| AK | Alaska | MD | Maryland | PA | Pennsylvania |
| AZ | Arizona | MA | Massachusetts | RI | Rhode Island |
| AR | Arkansas | MI | Michigan | SC | South Carolina |
| CA | California | MN | Minnesota | SD | South Dakota |
| CO | Colorado | MS | Mississippi | TN | Tennessee |
| CT | Connecticut | MO | Missouri | TX | Texas |
| DE | Delaware | MT | Montana | UT | Utah |
| FL | Florida | NE | Nebraska | VT | Vermont |
| GA | Georgia | NV | Nevada | VA | Virginia |
| HI | Hawaii | NH | New Hampshire | WA | Washington |
| ID | Idaho | NJ | New Jersey | WV | West Virginia |
| IL | Illinois | NM | New Mexico | WI | Wisconsin |
| IN | Indiana | NY | New York | WY | Wyoming |
| IA | Iowa | NC | North Carolina | CZ | Canal Zone |
| KS | Kansas | ND | North Dakota | DC | District of Columbia |
| KY | Kentucky | OH | Ohio | GU | Guam |
| LA | Louisiana | OK | Oklahoma | PR | Puerto Rico |
| | | | VI | Virgin Islands |
| Canadian Province Abbreviations |
| AB | Alberta | BC | British Columbia |
| LB | Labrador | MB | Manitoba |
| NB | New Brunswick | NF | Newfoundland |
| NT | Northwest Territories | ON | Ontario |
| PE | Prince Edward Island | PQ | Quebec |
| SK | Saskatchewan | UT | Yukon Territory |
| Abbreviations for Decimal Units |
| mum * | micrometer(s) |
| cm | centimeter(s) |
| kJ | kilojoule(s) |
| km | kilometer(s) |
| kPa | kilopascal(s) |
| MJ | megajoule(s) |
| mL | milliliter(s) |
| mm | millimeter(s) |
| mPa | megapascal(s) |
| * no Greek letter symbols appear |
| Abbreviations for Compound Units |
| degrees C | degrees Celsius |
| degrees F | degrees Fahrenheit |
| A | ampere(s) |
| atm | standard atmosphere |
| AU | astronomical unit |
| bbl | barrel(s) |
| Bcf | billion cubic feet (gas flow) |
| Bcfd | billion cubic feet per day (gas flow) |
| Bcfy | billion cubic feet per year (gas flow) |
| Btu | British thermal unit(s) |
| Bunit | billion unit(s) |
| c | cycle(s) |
| c | centi (one-hundredth); prefix only |
| C | coulomb(s) |
| cal | calorie(s) |
| cd | candela(s) |
| Ci | curie(s) |
| cmil | circular mil |
| cp | candlepower |
| cpm | count(s) per minute |
| cps | count(s) per second |
| d | day(s) |
| d | deci (one-tenth); prefix only |
| D | darcy(s) |
| dB | decibel(s) |
| dyn | dyne(s) |
| eV | electron volt(s) |
| F | fermi(s) |
| F | farad(s) |
| fc | footcandle(s) |
| fl oz | fluid ounce(s) |
| ft | foot/feet |
| ft/s | foot/feet per second |
| ft2 | square foot/feet |
| ft-lbf | foot pound(s) (force) |
| g | gram(s) |
| g, G | Gal (gravity constant) |
| G | giga (one billion); prefix only |
| gal | gallon(s) |
| Gs | gauss |
| h | hour(s) |
| ha | hectare(s) |
| H.E. | high explosive(s) |
| hp | horsepower |
| hp-h | horsepower hour |
| Hz | cycle(s) per second |
| in Hg | inch(es) of mercury |
| in | inch(es) |
| in H2O | inch(es) of water |
| J | joule(s) |
| k | kilo (one thousand); prefix only |
| K | kelvin |
| l | liter(s) |
| L | liter(s) (preferred form) |
| L | lambert(s) |
| lb | pound(s) |
| lbf | pound(s) force |
| lbf-ft | pound(s) force foot |
| lt | long ton(s) |
| m | meter |
| m | milli (one-thousandth); prefix only |
| M | mega (one million) |
| Mcf | thousand cubic feet (gas flow) |
| Mcfd | thousand cubic feet per day |
| mho | mho(s) |
| mi | mile(s) |
| mil | thousandth of an inch |
| MMbbl | million barrels |
| MMcf | million cubic feet (gas flow) |
| MMcfd | million cubic feet per day (gas flow) |
| MMcfy | million cubic feet per year (gas flow) |
| mol | mole(s) |
| mol wt | mole weight |
| mol % | mole percent |
| mpg | mile(s) per gallon |
| mph | mile(s) per hour |
| Mx | maxwell(s) |
| n | nano (one-billionth); prefix only |
| n | refractive index |
| N | Newton(s) |
| nmi | nautical mile(s) |
| Oe | oersted(s) |
| ohm-cmil/ft | ohm circular mil per foot |
| oz | ounce(s) |
| p | pico (one-trillionth); prefix only |
| P | poise(s) |
| Pa | pascal(s) |
| pct | percent |
| ppb | part(s) per billion |
| ppm | part(s) per million |
| psi | pound(s) (force) per square inch |
| psia | pound(s) force per square inch, absolute |
| psig | pound(s) force per square inch, gauge |
| r | revolution(s) |
| R | roentgen(s) |
| rad | radian(s) |
| rpm | revolutions per minute |
| s | second(s) |
| S | siemens(s) |
| sr | steradian(s) |
| st | stere(s) |
| st | short ton(s) |
| St | stokes |
| std ft3 | standard cubic foot/feet |
| t | metric ton(s) |
| t/w-h | metric ton(s) per worker hour |
| t/w-d | metric ton(s) per worker day |
| T | tesla(s) |
| tr oz | troy ounce(s) |
| unit-1 | reciprocal unit |
| unit2 | square unit (or unit squared) |
| unit3 | cubic unit |
| W | watt(s) |
| Wb | weber(s) |
| wt %, wt pct | weight percent |
| yd | yard(s) |
| yr | year(s) |